Stepping on Butterflies
by Parkway Dr
Summary: Sequel to "Grandma, Tell Me a Story." After Trunks' time machine is sabotaged, he wakes up to the hospitality of the Akatsuki. But what aren't they telling him? Who's working behind the scenes, and how is Kiba's family and the rest of Konoha involved?
1. Chapter 1

Hello everyone, and welcome to "Stepping On Butterflies" The sequel to my first fic "Grandma, Tell Me a Story." For those of you who have read the story, welcome back! I'm going to do everything I can try and make this story better than the last one! For those of you who haven't read the first story, this may be a BIT confusing for you, actually, probably pretty confusing. If you don't feel like reading the first story, check out... ehh, the last 3-ish chapters? That should at least pave the way, but I would recommend reading the first story before stepping into her! I'm hoping to avoid any confusion if at all possible. I recommend checking out the first story either way for the simple fact that it will make much more sense!

For those of you who aren't too familiar with Dragon Ball Z or Mass Efect 2, you have nothing to worry about! This story is set IN the Naruto world, few DBZ characters are included, and only one ME2 character. So I'm hoping confusion could be a minimum, but if you still don't really know who these guys are, look them up, YouTube them, something!

Here's just one thing I want to get out of the way. I understand not everyone will like this story, and I'm not expecting everyone to. If this isn't for you, then you shouldn't read it. I guess what I'm trying to say is, if you don't like the story... go read another fic! I won't waste your time, you won't waste mine, and everyone is happy. =)

Anyway, let's get started! This story has a decent chunk of OCs, six of which you should be familiar with if you've read the first story! And like before, and most stories that have Zetsu, _Talking like this is White Zetsu_, **and talking like this is Black Zetsu**. Alright, enough talking, story time!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto Shippuden, Mass Effect, or Dragon Ball Z. All fictional series are property to their respective owners and are simply being borrowed for the sake of entertainment purposes, nothing more.

Chapter 1

Zetsu and Madara stood in an open grassy meadow, facing the collection of glowing orange balls, red stars painted about them, with the four star ball in front of the small collection.

"_This is so cool! What are we going to wish for?_ **Be quiet, you idiot. Madara, where is that boy you found?**"

"He's in a genjutsu. He won't wake until after we have finished." he chuckled. "And even then, it will still be in effect. The boy is incredibly powerful, so we had to take the proper precautions."

(Flashback)

Trunks laid still on a bed in the room at the far back end of the Akatsuki headquarters. Madara and the Illusive Man stood at the foot of the bed, glancing down at him.

"Did he have the Dragon Balls on him?" asked the Illusive Man.

"Yes." Madara replied. "He is still unconscious. What would you have me do with him?"

"You? You don't have to do anything." he replied as he gazed over his body, his eyes glowing a bright steely-blue color as the same color surrounded Trunks in a simple and thin outline.

"Genjutsu."

"Half right." said the Illusive Man as his eyes ceased their high brightness. "I've ensured his coma-like state for the time being. You can undo it when you see fit; it is not a powerful genjutsu. However, I left my influence within him to ensure... a last resort, should he not come to terms with our best interests."

"Kabuto attempted to do the same thing with the late Inuzuka he revived. Are you confident you will be able to control this boy? His chakra... doesn't feel like chakra." said Madara.

"That's because it isn't."

"I see."

"This boy, Trunks Brief, is very powerful. He's much stronger than you are, Madara. You'll need to be careful."

"I doubt that." he confidently replied.

"Then you doubt. It does not change what is, and because of this, it is why I am implementing these necessary precautions to ensure not only his loyalty, but a limitation to his power." the Illusive Man reached for a cigarette from his jacket pocket and lit it, inhaling then exhaling before he continued. "If he attempts to raise his power past a certain point, that energy will cease, and redirect back, thereby lowering his power if he gets too high. He would have to continue raising his power to stop the pain he would endure, but he would eventually run out and pass out from the exhaustion unless the seal is lifted otherwise."

"How do we know he won't break the seal himself? The Fourth Hokage sealed the nine-tails within his son, and even the seal he had was broken on more than one occasion."

"Indeed." the Illusive Man replied. "No doubt that Minato's sealing power was great for his time, but mine works much differently than his." he inhaled from his cigarette, blowing out a cloud as he tapped the stick, ashes dropping to the ground. "His sealing power simply kept the beast locked away. Mine however only reacts when a certain level of power is reached. It is similar, but much different, since Trunks is not a host to anything other than his own power. It is a complete seal on himself."

"Understood." Madara replied. "But what purpose does it serve to keep him when we already have what we want?"

The Illusive Man shook his head. "The Dragon Balls will not be used for the Eye of the Moon."

"What?" Madara growled. "What are you saying? You said these balls can grant any wish, any _two_ wishes, why can we not use them to instantly secure our plan?"

"A man of your intelligence surprises me." replied the Illusive Man. "You know as well as I do you need all nine of the tailed beasts in order to activate your plan."

"Of course, that is why I was planning on using the Dragon Balls for that very reason. We would not need the jinchuriki any longer, we would have that type of power at our disposal."

"The power, yes. The soul, and the actual creature, no."

Madara knew he was right. He had gotten his hopes too high up at the opportunity to wish for something too good such as that. Seems he would have to continue to follow his instructions, for now. "Then what should we use the wish for?"

"Attempt to bring back all the dead Akatsuki members. If I remember correctly, Shenron may not be able to bring back those who have died within a year's time."

"Then why are we wasting our time speculating something like that?"

"A difference in dimensions, or rather, a sudden jump in the past could alter the wishing power of the dragon. It's a long shot, but it would save us the trouble ourselves."

"I suppose that's true. Very well, I'll make arrangements." replied the annoyed Uchiha.

"Excellent. When you gather the Dragon Balls, you must be very precise when you go about summoning him, follow it like this..."

(End Flashback)

"**I see.**"

Madara then extended his hands over the balls, remembering what the Illusive Man told him to do, following his instructions to call forth the beast.

"Eternal Dragon, by your name, I summon you forth!" he said, and in that moment, the balls began to glow brighter, the sky becoming darker as a distant sound of an oncoming storm quickly approached them.

"Shenron!"

The Uchiha was in awe of what had just happened, as an enormous and powerful beam of light shot to the sky, swirling around, creating several curls into the sky as the image finally came into view. In the sky, miles in length, a giant dragon loomed over them, staring down at the two Akatsuki members, its solid red eyes glowing brightly as he focused on Madara.

"Who... has summoned me?"

Madara stepped ahead of Zetsu to distinguish himself. "I, Madara Uchiha, summoned you here, Shenron."

"Then you may ask one wish, and this, I will grant you."

"_One? I thought the Illusive Man said Shenron granted two wishes?_ **It doesn't matter, we only need one.**"

"My power... is restricted... and unbalanced in my limitations... due to my crossing dimensions... One wish... and I shall grant it. Now... speak."

"Shenron." Madara started. "I am the leader of an organization known as the Akatsuki. The majority of my fellow members are dead. I wish that all of the members of the Akatsuki are brought back to life!" (A/N: I am aware that when used to revive a large amount of people, it must be within a years time after their deaths. That's why I added in the 'restricted and unbalanced in limitations' to Shenron to clear it! Yay!)

Shenron read Madara's mind, understanding that he wished for a large amount of people, yet did not wish for a revival for people by the name of Nagato or Yahiko.

"Very well... It shall be done." Shenron said, his eyes glowing red as he preceded to carry out the wish.

**X X X**

The cold abandoned Akatsuki hideout that became Sasori's grave was slowly beginning to teem with life again. Gasping in reaction, Sasori stood up, falling to his knees straight away. He hadn't stood in years. The cold dampness of the cave... He was in the exact same spot where he died, the fight felt like it was yesterday, and here he was, alive and well.

"Wh... Where... am I?" he looked at his hands, and around his body. He was wearing the same robe he had died in. His puppet body, however, was gone, revealing a fleshy and very mortal structure as he grimaced at his new appearance.

"I'm... alive..." he said, glancing at his hands. "But... how?"

**X X X**

Ringing. That's all he could hear as he covered his ears, coughing after his first gasp of air was admitted to the world. The pounding noise slowly made its way down to a more bearable tone as Deidara struggled to pick himself up. He wasn't sure what was going on, or where he was, but he was in a lot of pain.

He laid there, squirming on the floor, slowly opening his eyes, noticing the sky was completely black. "What the... what the hell is going on? Where the hell am I?"

Finally adjusting to the pain in his body, he slowly got himself to stand up. He looked down at himself and noticed he was in the same outfit he had died in. His arms were still sewn back together, and by all means it was as if nothing happened to him. _What's going on? This is too weird... yeah._

**X X X**

_Darkness... Cold steel... A morgue. _thought a voice.

In the lower levels of the Konoha main hospital, a young female doctor was working her shift alone while a co-worker went and got them lunch. Sitting at her desk, she flipped through the pages of a magazine, enjoying the quietness of her job.

_The door is unlocked. Of course. Who would expect a dead man to open it and break free? Hm... my chakra is low. I'll need to take them by surprise._

The female doctor hummed to herself, stopped by instinct when she heard a slight thud on the other side of the room. She placed the magazine down and went to investigate, trailing down the long rows of cabinets containing dead bodies inside them. Reaching the end, she turned around and confirmed it was just her head.

"I shouldn't even be watching scary movies to begin with. Bad enough I have to work around dead bodies." she said to herself.

However, a chill ran up her spine as she noticed something eerie about the room now; one of the cabinets was slightly open.

"What the...? Did I close that all the way? I must have." she thought out loud.

Slowly she made her way to the cabinet and finally faced it, looking down at the registration information.

"Kakuzu... from Takigakure. Akatsuki."

She closed the cabinet, but curiosity piqued. Sure she closed it, but she was new, at the very least, she could get a close up look at what a member of the Akatsuki looked like. Slowly she opened the cabinet, the slab extended all the way, her eyes opening widely at the shocking realization.

He was gone.

"Pardon me." said a deep, chilling voice. Her head shot up, and standing on the other side of the slab, was Kakuzu. He was almost a complete nightmare to her. Stitches all around his body, most noticeably going from his lips to his ears. Had his stitches been non-existent, he would look like a normal person. But his eyes... she was so scared all she could do was stare into them. "I needed to stretch my legs."

Her mouth opened to scream for help, but the years of being dead did not hurt his instincts as he softly raised a hand, three threads extending, one from his index finger, middle, and thumb, the first two piercing through her eyes, the third inserting itself into her mouth, killing her instantly. He pulled the threads out, retracting them into his hand as the lifeless body of the doctor fell to the ground, blood flooding out of her empty eye sockets and mouth as Kakuzu approached her, looming overhead. Quickly, and with just as much precision as before, he worked the threads in his hand into her chest, tearing her heart out of her as he retracted it back to him and held it in his hands.

"Looks like I will need to restart my collection." he said as he loosened the stitches around his mouth, ingesting the heart of the doctor, swallowing it whole as his stitches reattached themselves. (A/N: I have no clue how he does the whole heart eating thing, so I just did that... yeah.)

Using his left index finger, he slowly extended another thread for an attack as he heard something fall. Turning his head, he saw another doctor, male, terrified at the image in front of him, instantly turning to run for the door. Unfortunately for him, Kakuzu's finger work never lost its touch, as he flicked his finger diagonally while turning around, cutting through the head of the doctor, and slicing his head in half like a triangle-cut sandwich.

Glancing up at the marquise of the office, he noticed the village symbol right off the bat, and realized he had to leave. Now.

"Konoha... It won't be long before ANBU shows up. Time for me to go." he said, exiting the door and making his way towards a window, busting through it to find himself at the ground level of the hospital.

_The climate is warm, but the sky is black... Interesting._

**X X X**

The dark sky was a surprise to him, but it did not seem noticeable on the outside. He never showed his emotions, even when no one was around. Standing on the roof of the Uchiha Hideout, Itachi stood with his arms crossed, glancing out into the distance, noticing the enormous dragon looming on the horizon.

"I had a feeling you would show up." said Itachi, as a much older Kisame approached him from behind.

"Itachi..."

The Uchiha turned, a small smile escaped his face. Kisame had definitely aged, but he was aging well to say the least. "Kisame."

"That dragon is not a coincidence, if you were wondering."

Itachi turned back around to face the dragon again, so far, but so large. "I see... Then..."

"You, and everyone else who has died, I'm assuming." Kisame finished for him.

Itachi said nothing, but turned around when he heard Kisame take something out from behind him. It was another Akatsuki robe.

"I figured you might need this."

"Kisame... How is Sasuke?"

Kisame fell to silence for a moment before gaining the courage to break the news to his teammate. Thirteen years of knowing, and thinking, 'What would he say if he were still alive?' And all the grizzled swordsman could do is bluntly state it; he knew Itachi wasn't much for beating around the bush.

"Sasuke's dead."

Itachi said nothing, did not move, did not shake, but his face told differently as two light streams of tears escaped his eyes down his face. He swallowed to regain his composure. "I see... You're... sure, then?"

"Mm. I checked it myself... I'm sorry, Itachi. It was a long time ago."

Itachi turned around, not bothering to wipe away the drying tears as Kisame noticed his hurt face. He took his new robe and dawned it, adjusting it as the way he normally wore it.

"Let's go." he said, walking ahead of him. _If Sasuke is dead, then there is still something else I can do. I know that he is still out there._

Kisame watched him walk ahead, following close behind. He figured for now, he should give his friend time to grieve. He didn't know everything about Sasuke, but he knew Itachi didn't hate him. He was one of the very, very few to know anything personal about the Uchiha.

_Madara._

**X X X**

"Your wish... has been granted... My agreement... has been fulfilled."

"Shenron. One question before you go." Madara said.

"What is it?"

"A source told me you could grant two wishes, yet you say you cannot in this dimension. Could we wish again? How long would we have to wait?"

"Yes, you will be able to wish again. Beyond that... I am unfamiliar with this realm of time... and cannot answer anything beyond that. Farewell." said the dragon as a bright yellow light surrounded it, bringing light across the sky and across the nations as the dragon disappeared from the sky, and the darkness returning to a regular day as the clouds slowly separated themselves.

When the light cleared, Madara and Zetsu noticed the balls were still there, as if nothing had happened at all.

"_I wonder what happened?_ **I imagine we cannot summon the dragon for some time now. The balls lost the aura around them before he was summoned.**"

"It doesn't matter. The balls aren't gone, and we got what we came here for." Madara cut in. "Take care of finding Sasori, Deidara, and Kakuzu. Kisame is already searching for Itachi."

"**What about Hidan?**"

"Of course. Get him after you've gotten ahold of the others." he said, chuckling to himself as he concentrated, remembering how to act now as Tobi around the others. "Don't forget our little secret, Mr. Zetsu!"

Zetsu smirked. It was nice to have Tobi back, even if it was obviously just Madara behind the scenes, it would be interesting to see the upcoming events.

"_Be good now, Tobi. We're going to check in on our new friend once we find everyone._ **I'm sure Deidara will be thrilled to see you again.**" he sarcastically suggested.

**X X X**

"How did it go?" Asked the Illusive Man, the backside of his chair to Madara's projected image.

"Shenron only granted one wish."

"I'm aware."

"You knew?" asked a confused Uchiha. "Then why wou-"

The Illusive Man rose from his chair, a half lit cigarette in the position of a held pencil as he tapped the side of it, letting the ash fall to the ground. He turned to face Madara and took a few steps towards him. He took an inhale from his cigarette and let it out before interrupting.

"You're a brilliant man, Madara. But your ignorance to other dimensions and crossings of power could bring your ambitions to a screeching halt. Indeed Shenron can normally grant two wishes, and it is of no surprise he only granted one wish in an entirely new realm."

"I don't understand."

The Illusive Man smoked once more before beginning his explanation. "The checks and balances of nature. The further back you go, the more compressive you get over abilities and powers. Take Trunks for example. Within his own time, his power is familiar with the world, and he can fight at maximum. Here, however, it is compressed and limited, even without my hold on him. Yet despite that, he is still considerably powerful. The same can be said for Shenron. Although his wish granting was cut in half, certain qualities could be familiar with the world, and could even even strengthen him. What one could lose, one could also very well gain."

"I see. This explains why he was able to bring back the Akatsuki despite over a dozen years past their deaths."

The Illusive Man took another hit, letting the smoke go as the cloud stuck together over his face, slowly floating up. "Precisely."

"Everything else will proceed according to plan, then." Madara replied. "What about the Dragon Balls?"

"Put them back in Trunks' possession. There's no need for an alarm if he wakes up and finds the balls missing. I assume they will be inert for some time before being used again. It's nothing to worry about."

"Understood." said Madara as he stepped out of the projection and out of the room completely.

The Illusive Man crossed his arms, tapping the side of his cigarette. The ashes that fell revealed it was down to a mere bud. He turned back to face the ever-glowing star. His eyes quickly lit up in a bright steely-blue color as he took his hand and gave a gentle wave from one side to the next.

**X X X**

_Release_

Everything felt heavy around him. He was awake now, and could move, but his neck, his hair, covered in cold sweat. His head was killing him as he rested his hand on it. The room was lit, but only by a candle; enough for him to see in front of him but nothing beyond that.

"Where am I?" he asked himself, noticing his sword was sheathed and set to the side of the bed he was sleeping on. He picked it up and clasped it back around as he glanced around the room. He regretted wearing his black tank top as he covered his arms, regretting again tearing the sleeves off of his jacket. _Why's it so cold?_

"I need to... wait! The Dragon Balls!" he panicked, looking around the room. Finally catching his eyes on the brown sack he had placed the balls in, he looked inside and was relieved the balls were still all together.

His senses reacted as he quickly took his sword out as he heard a door creak open. _What... the hell is that?_ he thought as the figure came into view. It stood rather high, with two mandibles resembling a venus fly-trap ascending vertically from its shoulders. Its left half was black, and its right, white. Trunks was definitely nervous, if not freaked out by this point. It was almost like looking at two people, as the black half had a solid golden eye, the white half seeming more human with a correct looking eye, thought it did not make him any less nervous.

"Who the... What are you?"

"_Why does everyone always say that when they first meet us? _**Be quiet.**"

_It's two people? What?_ Trunks thought as the plant-man argued with itself.

"_You seem to be feeling better._ **We were the ones who recovered you from your accident.** _How are you feeling?_"

"Accident... ?" But then he remembered, he was leaving Earth... in the past...

(Flashback)

"So... you're sure this will work in my time?" Trunks asked, glancing down at the Dragon Balls on top of Kami's lookout. He had come back just for a visit to see how his past friends were doing, and how his past self was coming along, when Dende informed him he could borrow the new Dragon Balls he had made to bring back his friends, slowly, but surely, since he would have to wish them back one at a time. Skeptical, but hopeful, Trunks took the offer.

Dende nodded. "Yes. They may be skipping ahead in time, but the dragon will still work because its original creator will still be alive, regardless of where it is. The first wish you may want to do is bring back Piccolo, so you can start using your time's Dragon Balls again, but that's just my suggestion."

He figured it might be a good idea to do that. As much as he wanted to wish back Gohan and his father, he knew he was only borrowing them, and they still needed them.

Taking the Dragon Balls into a brown sack, Trunks wrapped it around his shoulders as he turned to face his time machine. He wished he could stay longer, but he remembered last time he came back and interfered with the times, hoping this time it wouldn't happen again since the threats are no more.

"Thanks, Dende. I'll bring these back as soon as I'm done."

Dende smiled as he wished him well. Trunks opened up the latch to his time machine, punched in the coordinates and headed back.

(End Flashback)

"_I brought you back here to our hideout after finding you. _**Your injuries were minor. You should be fine now.**"

"I... see." Trunks replied, looking around. Zetsu still blocked the doorway, and Trunks could feel something was wrong with his energy... it was different. Besides, this person helped him, he couldn't be all that bad, right?

"_What's your name?_"

"Trunks..." he then stopped, hoping maybe they knew where he lived and could take him back. "Do you know where West City is? That's where I live and-"

"_West City?_ **You are a long way from home, boy.**"

Trunks' eyes flashed wide open. _What? What's going on?...Where am I?_

"_Pardon me. Where are my manners? I'm Zetsu._ **I'm the leader of the Akatsuki.**"

Sure he was weird, was painted right in the middle, had mandibles that could swallow a human whole, has a split personality, but he still saved him, right? The least he could do is be thankful.

"Thanks... for helping me out... But where am I?"

"**You're in the main headquarters of the Akatsuki. **_Come on, we'll give you a tour!_"

**X X X**

Following Zetsu closely, Trunks was shown around the Akatsuki hideout, though he felt slightly uncomfortable and a bit unwelcome as two members that sat in the living quarters were staring at him.

"New guy?" Kisame asked out loud.

"Who knows? He sure looks strong though!" Tobi said, leaning over to Kisame and poking him. "He may be stronger than you, Kisame-senpai!"

Kisame just shook his head. _As if._

Trunks just kept his focus away from their conversation and straight ahead, unaware that he was just inches away from bumping into another member. Unable to get out of the way in time, their shoulders contacted, the member staring right into Trunks' face as the Saiyan panicked for a second.

"Uh, sorry." Trunks said to him.

"Please... watch where you're going next time." he said back.

"_Hey, Itachi! Good to see ya again! You like our new member?_ **Shut up. Pardon us, Itachi.**"

Itachi said nothing as he walked past the two into the sleeping quarters section. He may have been dead for thirteen years, but that didn't mean he was able to rest.

_New member?_ Trunks thought. _They don't mean me, do they? I don't even know what's going on!_

"_That's Itachi Uchiha. He's one of the strongest members in the Akatsuki. _**We can handle introductions later, fool. **_Oh yeah, you're right! We gotta take you to see the boss, Trunks!_"

"The boss?" he asked as they ventured upstairs and stepped inside an empty room with a circular panel in the middle. "I thought you said you guys were the leaders?"

"_We are. _**But we still have people to report to. Step into the circle.**"

Trunks was hesitant. He didn't know these people, was called a _new member, _probably already made an enemy already, couldn't figure out where he was, and now he was being ordered to step into... well, whatever that is.

Finally stepping into the circe, Trunks noticed layers of the circle rising above him and descending, creating a projection screen, taking him to a new place all together. When he looked around, he saw a dark room, almost like a mirror room built completely by glass as everyone glanced at seemed more like he was staring out into space itself. In front of him, at a distance of a few yards, sat a man in a chair, with an up close and real time star in the background, split down the middle as the left held a red glow, and the right held a blue one. The man sat there with a cigarette in his hand, smoking it as he finally began to speak.

"Trunks Briefs."

_He knows my name?_

"Y-Yeah... Yeah, that's me. Who are you?"

"I'm a friend. Someone who can help." he replied. He had a soothing, intelligent, and mindful voice. The way he carried himself when he talked told him he was a man of experience, and a man who was on a mission. "I understand you were in an accident before being brought here. How are you feeling?"

Trunks was too busy staring into his eyes. They were... something was wrong about them. The energy this man was projecting was a different kind of power, and he didn't really feel like finding out anything bad until he figured out what was going on with him and where he was.

"Oh, sorry. Um... I feel okay, I guess." he paused for a minute. "What's going on? Where am I?"

The man took an inhale before releasing the tobacco from his mouth. "Your time machine had a mechanical malfunction. You're in the past, several thousands of years in the past as a matter of fact." he stopped for a moment before continuing. "While you were recovering, I found an interesting amount of information about you. Who you are, your abilities... and your powers."

Trunks' eyes opened. "You know I'm a?-"

"A Saiyan, half, anyway. An old and extinct race of partial-humans who were once one of the most feared races in the universe. However, the race naturally was lost due to generation upon generation washing away its genetics, and the majority of the race being destroyed by Frieza. Pure Saiyans have long since been dead, since Goku and Vegeta passed away thousands and thousands of years ago from my time."

"Vegeta... he's my father."

"Indeed." he stood up, still holding onto his cigarette as he tapped it on the chair, ashes falling off. "Trunks. I'm a man in a difficult situation, trying to bring humanity to its prime by saving it while it is at its fullest power. Like you, I am not from this time. I live in a world where all of this was revered to be nothing more than a fairy tale. I came here to try and save the future... _my_ future, just like you did when you stopped Androids 17 and 18... and Cell."

_How does he know that? How does he know any of this? How... Who is this guy? _"Well, what's wrong? What do I have to do with any of this?"

"As I stated, we are several thousands of years in the past from our respective time lines. In the known world that we exist in today, there are only five great nations. At one point, there was a cold war, due to each nation having a heavy arsenal of power. These weapons of mass destruction in this era are known as Tailed Beasts. Each one more powerful and terrifying than the last."

He sat back down, crossing a leg over one of his. "My associates have been able to seal away seven of these beasts, out of the nine total. However, the eight, and nine-tailed beasts are still out there. They are also the most dangerous and most powerful."

"You... need my help with getting them?"

"Essentially. But I will not force my cause onto you. I want you to do this because you feel it is for the greater good of humanity. Saiyan or not, you are still part human, and your fellow man needs you." he inhaled before letting out a puff of smoke before continuing. "Years before you showed up, the tailed beasts ravaged the land, destroying nations, and causing chaos around the world as we know it. They were sealed, however, inside the bodies of humans. Unfortunately you cannot leave such power in the hands of flawed individuals, as they cannot control an incredible magnitude of power such as that. The beasts have broken free of their hosts before, and they will do so again until they are either sealed, or the host dies, thereby killing the beast as well."

It _sounded_ like a noble cause. Powerful beasts sealed inside humans that were threatening the lands and people around them? Sure... he could sympathize, but just how strong were they?

"Trunks. This is a very delicate situation. I would not entrust it to someone unless I believed they could make a difference and help reshape the future. The Eight-Tailed Giant Ox, and the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, have the ability, and if the host loses control, will destroy the world as we know it. I ask you this because I know of your abilities, I know who your father was, and I know his legacy he left for you made you into a very gifted individual."

The Illusive Man took a puff from his cigarette while rubbing his forehead. Exhaling, he gave Trunks his full attention.

"The Akatsuki is moving for the sole purpose of removing the threat of the tailed beasts, to protect the world from greater problems than the simple sins of man. Trunks... will you help us? Will you help humanity, like you've done so once already one more time?"

He had a feeling that question was coming. One thing that kept him wondering was why him? But then it made sense, why _not_ him? He knew what it was like, uncontrollable power destroying everything you've ever come to know and love, family, friends... _Gohan._ He'd never forget that night he found his master dead in the streets at the hands of the androids. The stormy night and empty streets filled with totaled cars, busted street lights, and unidentifiable bodies littered the roads, including his best friend's.

He'd never forget having to hide underground in fear, hoping that the problems would go away, only to be met with disappointment every single day, and every single try he made to stop them himself, since they had slaughtered every other defender on the planet.

The images of his mother flashes through his head. She was all he had left in his life. His father, his grandparents, everyone he had ever loved... they were gone. Was this really that much different here than it was back home before he destroyed them?

No, it had to be. Yes they had saved him, but did that mean they were telling the truth? What if it was reverse, and these guys, the Akatsuki, were really trying to do harm by sealing the beasts away?

But then something hit him. Something he had never felt before. His fears and worries, paranoia period had just left him. It was like he entered a sort of high and relaxed himself, finding his mind at ease with the Illusive Man's proposition.

_Why am I feeling like this? _the half Saiyan thought. But he quickly forgot about it. He was more at ease with this new feeling he had. He was still in control of his body, but it still felt like a hand came into his mind and pushed him away from his doubts.

Looking up at the Illusive Man, staring him straight in the eyes from where he stood, a small smile came across the Saiyan's face. "Yeah... sure. I figured I already saved the world once, maybe I can do it again." but then he realized something, he had no way to get home. "On one condition, though. When I help you, I'm going to need the time machine I came in fixed. I have a home to go to myself."

"Excellent." he replied. "Zetsu will handle the rest then. I will be in touch if you need any more information. Good luck, Trunks." he finished, touching a dial on his chair and ending the transmission.

_Good, it's working. And I didn't even have to push much on him at all. Still, I will keep an eye on him. Despite the steps I have taken, if he figures out, things could become difficult. _the Illusive Man thought as he turned to face the two-sided star, gazing out into it as the low humming from the projector slowly subsided.

**END!**

And there's the first chapter. Simple reminder, even though I'm sure you guys already know and want me to shut up about it, but give this a chance to settle in... it'll pick up! Promise!

Oh yeah, and for those who are wondering... if I haven't explained it in the story already, I'm gonna try and do what I can to keep Trunks at a level where's he's obviously very strong, but he won't be completely overwhelming everyone like nothing. And for those who are wondering... yes, there WILL be Super Saiyan-ness. But who's gonna be the lucky duck who fights Trunks in that state? You'll see later on!


	2. Chapter 2

And here's the second chapter. Time to see what happens to Trunks!

Chapter 2

The layers of the circle below him set back down as Trunks stepped away from it, Zetsu standing by the doorway with a long robe in his hands.

"_So did you say yes? Tell me you said yes!_"

Trunks slightly chuckled. He was funny looking, but he was like a kid. Well, the white side was. "Yeah, I told him I would help if he helped me get back to my home."

"_Alright!_ **This is yours.**"

Zetsu handed over the robe to Trunks, who held it out all the way. An interesting design to it. All black, easily falling to his legs, and assorted red clouds painted across it. He removed his sword and jacket and placed the robe around him, buttoning it all the way up as he re-clasped his sword around his shoulders. His hair was partially inside the collar of the robe, some of it hanging outside. He unbuttoned the top two buttons, letting the collar fly open, much like how Itachi wears his.

"_So? How's it feel?_"

"Heh. It's... big, but I like it." he said.

"**We will acquaint you with the other members now. This way.**"

Trunks followed Zetsu into the living quarters, where the now current members of the Akatsuki sat in discussion of how they got to where they did. All of them wore the same robes. Trunks tried to hold back an awkward laugh as one particular member, one in blonde hair, was trying to pry off another member from his arm like a love sick puppy.

"Tobi, let go of me, yeah!"

"B-But senpai! I missed you sooooooo much!" said Tobi, looking up at Deidara.

"I don't care! Get off!" whined Deidara as he tried to shake Tobi off his arm, but to no avail. Tobi had too much of a tight grip on him.

"_Alright everyone, listen up! _**We have a new member.**" Zetsu said as he stepped away from Trunks.

Trunks felt like a new kid at a school. Everyone turned to face him. Some of them young, and some of them... well, he didn't think old could really describe how the blue skinned man or the man with the mask over his face could do it justice.

"_This is Trunks. Now let's introduce you to the others._" Zetsu began, pointing to a young man in a similar robe with shaggy red hair. His tired eyes gave the expression he didn't really care about there being a new member, or about anything except trying to take a nap.

"_That's Sasori._" he said, pointing right next to him to another young man with long blonde hair covering his left eye. "_That's Deidara. The person grappled to his arm is Tobi._"

Trunks memorized the names of the members fairly quickly as Zetsu finally ended with Hidan. He already knew Itachi from bumping into him.

"_Now that we've introduced everyone, we'll need to do a slight adjustment in partnering._"

Zetsu glanced around. With Trunks, not including Zetsu, there were eight members. Hidan and Kakuzu would stay a team, it would be foolish to separate them. Kisame and Itachi still seemed very capable, and Kisame's age didn't slow his performance down at all, much to his and Madara's surprise. The problem was with Deidara, Sasori, and Tobi. First it was just Sasori and Deidara, but then Sasori died, so it was him and Tobi, but then Deidara died!

"_This will be simple._ **Sasori. I need your help with an assignment. That being said, Trunks, you will be partnered with Deidara and Tobi.**"

"YIPEEEEE!" Tobi shouted, jumping for joy on top of the couch before Deidara grabbed him and pulled him down.

"Were you built with an off button? You're gonna break the god damn couch and freak this new guy out, yeah." Deidara said.

"But senpai!" he then got right next to his ear to whisper. "That means _I'm_ going to be _his_ senpai!" he eagerly said into his ear, shaking with excitement.

_**POW!**_

Tobi laid on the floor with his legs facing up as Deidara crossed his arms. "Idiot."

Tobi rubbed the side of his head. "O-Ow, senpai! Why do you have to always hit me?"

Trunks chuckled, maybe a bit too loud for his own good as Deidara glanced over to him. The blonde smirked. _This guy's not that bad I guess._ Deidara thought.

**X X X**

"Does it look okay?" Salayna asked her brother.

"Yeah! You did great, sis." Kiyosato replied back.

It was the morning of their parents anniversary. They had planned a few days prior that they'd get up extra early to make them breakfast and take it to them. Kiyosato insisted his sister make breakfast, even though she had little confidence in her cooking abilities. He joked with her from time to time telling her anyone could cook better than their mom. This resulted in several groundings and smacks to the back of the head, an apparent sign that Sakura's temper never did falter since meeting their father.

It still bothered her. Sure she was a Genin, and a ninja, just like her brother, but it was... different. Her nin dog was killed on a mission that turned out to be an ambush. They were able to repel the enemy forces, but her dog died from blood loss. Since then, she always felt the looks on her. _Hey, isn't that the Inuzuka girl who doesn't have a dog? _or_ How come she doesn't have a dog? _and_ She must be a real disgrace to her clan to not even have her companion._

She hated it. She wasn't bad looking, her family kept reminding her. Her red hair was at the same length as her mother's, and inherited her eyes as well. She was, like her father said, a lot like a former teammate he used to have, but she grew out of it. But she constantly questioned herself for anything and everything.

The breakfast was simple. Pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, waffles, and a card from the two siblings congratulating them on their anniversary.

"Can you carry it, Kiyo?" she asked.

"Yeah, let me have it." he said taking the long tray into his hands as they made their way towards their parents bedroom. "They should still be asleep, so they'll be really happy." he said, encouraging his sister.

She smiled. "Okay."

**X X X**

"Oh my god... Oh my god... Oh my god!"

Except this morning, they weren't still sleeping. Kiba eagerly awoke and surprised Sakura by convincing her to start their "celebration" despite fear of waking their kids up. It was difficult to make time for it, since Sakura was rather loud during. It wasn't a problem in the beginning, but now it was obviously going to have some serious consequences if...

"Kiba I'm gonna- Kiba I'm!-"

"-Happy Anniversa- OH, MY GOD! MOM! DAD! WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING!"

The sudden image of their father on top of their mother, although covered by a sheet, burned into their minds the moment they registered it.

"DIDN'T I TEACH YOU HOW TO KNOCK?" Kiba yelled at his son.

"Aw man that's so gross! You guys are like fifty!" Kiyosato replied, tilting his head to the side to move it away while his sister hid behind him, grabbing the door knob and shutting it.

"FIFTY?" shouted Sakura, her arms still around her husbands back as she glared at the door. "WE'RE BOTH THIRTY-ONE!"

On the other side, the two horrified siblings kept their back to the door.

"Big brother?"

"Yeah?"

"Were mom and dad just?-"

"Yeah... yeah they were."

Now completely embarrassed, Sakura pushed Kiba off of her, getting to her feet and dressing herself in what she wore last night. Until Kiba grabbed her.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"They made us breakfast." she said, taking her headband off of the floor and tying it back to the way she usually has it.

Kiba didn't like that answer. Yeah he was happy his kids made them breakfast, but come on, they were JUST in the middle of something. His hand still on her shoulder, he tugged a little bit.

"KIBA!" she yelled, glaring at him as she shot around.

"What?"

**X X X**

So eating in bed wasn't going to happen, but at the very least the family got a chance to sit down and eat together.

"Mom?" asked Salayna.

"Yes, dear?"

"Is it... good?"

The mother of two smiled as she nodded her head, lifting her plate up to show her daughter. "I finished it, didn't I? Looks like I liked it to me."

"I only wish you made more, pup." said Kiba, still hungry.

"Oh... sorry, dad. I'll make more next time."

Sensing his daughter's confidence falling down he caught himself. "No, no! It's not a bad thing. It's good!"

"Yeah, sis, you did a really good job making breakfast." said her brother.

An accomplished smile escaped her face. She knew her family loved her and supported her, but it was just an internal thing, her constant insecurity. Something she had to worry about on her own and hopefully others would accept it. Especially if she was going to look for someone in the future.

Akamaru sat at the foot of the chair his master sat at, he and Takamaru exchanging glances at each other from time to time. Both of their ears perked up as Takamaru barked to his master.

"What's up?" Kiyosato asked his dog.

"Kiba." said Akamaru.

Kiba took in a whiff of air. "Yeah, I know."

In that moment, there was a knock at the door. Kiba stood up and walked to it, answering it.

"Kiba Inuzuka?" said the voice as Sakura and the kids watched.

"Yeah, that's me."

"This is from the Hokage." he said, handing a letter to him.

"Thanks." he said, opening the letter.

_Kiba,_

_Please come to my office as soon as possible. It's an issue concerning the Akatsuki. I'll explain more when you're here._

_Do not mention this to anyone. Even Sakura._

_Godaime Hokage_

He folded the letter back up and tucked it away into his pocket, looking to his side at Akamaru.

"Sakura." he said. "I gotta head over to the Hokage's office really quick. I'll be back soon."

"What did she-" she started, but was interrupted as the two were off in a rush, slamming the door behind them. "-say?"

"Mom?" asked Kiyosato.

"He always does this when something big comes up."

"Who? Dad?"

She nodded. "But hopefully I'm just paranoid and it's nothing." _Even though I know... it isn't. It never is... is it, Kiba?_

**X X X**

"What?" Kiba asked, shocked. "Are you sure?"

Shikamaru was standing there with him with his hands in his pockets, nodding. "Yeah. My dad told me this morning when one of his men was doing a routine inspection, the area where I buried Hidan was violated. Someone dug him out."

"But... what could have-"

"Not what. Who, even though I'm certain of the answer." Tsunade interrupted. "You were the first available tracker I could get ahold of that could keep this under the radar. The village hasn't seen or heard anything Akatsuki related in over a dozen years. We'd like to keep it that way, and I'm hoping it was just some stupid kids playing a prank."

Shikamaru cleared his throat. "We just need to wait for-" he was interrupted as the door opened. Stepping through was a young man, around Kiyosato's age, around 5'10, wearing traditional Hyuga robes, his hair reaching to the middle of his back, tied into a ponytail as the light coming through the windows of the office reflected off of his sunglasses given to him by his father.

"Never mind, there he is." Shikamaru said.

"I apologize for the wait." he said. "I wasn't home at the time ANBU tried to reach me."

He stepped in between Kiba and Shikamaru, glancing at Kiba and nodded his head. "Hello, Mr. Inuzuka."

"Hey Shinta." he replied. He really did resemble his father more than anything else, merely having his mother's straight hair in a darker color. But the type of speech is what easily distinguished him as an Aburame descendant.

"Just see what you can find. Report back if you can find anything, and whatever happens, keep this matter to yourselves. In and out."

All three nodded as they turned and left the office.

**X X X**

It was a precise incision to the ground, but was a horrifying image to those who knew what was buried beneath it. There, the four, plus another Nara member, the one who found it stood there attempting to figure out what had happened.

"When did you find this?" Shikamaru asked.

"About two hours ago, but there's no telling how long that hole's been there."

"Hey, Akamaru. You smell that?" Kiba asked.

"Another scent. But... it's mixed in with another. Hard to separate." he replied.

"Perhaps it was just one person?" Shinta suggested.

"Maybe, but I doubt it. It would take a while for one person to open this hole up and get all of the parts out while keeping the noise down." Shikamaru replied.

"Hmm." Shinta thought out loud, taking his fingers in front of his sunglasses. "Byakugan!"

The veins around the sunglasses of the Aburame tensed as they became visible to the surface of his skin.

Kiba watched as he stared off into the horizon through the forest before he spoke again.

"They moved past the forest for a moment, but their chakra suddenly left the surface. Almost as if they flew off or burrowed underground. It's more of a trail of dust than anything else."

It made sense to them. Kiba couldn't follow the scent any further than a couple hundred of feet before it just, like he said, suddenly disappeared. Shikamaru was just as confused as they were, unable to find any sort of actual conclusion.

"I don't like this." said Shikamaru. "Make sure this hole gets covered up as soon as possible. We need to get back to the Hokage." he said, glancing down into the empty hole, recalling his fight as if it was just yesterday. His final words echoing into his head over, and over again.

(Flashback)

"Lord Jashin will punish you for this!" Hidan screamed, his head at the very bottom of the pit Shikamaru blasted him to. "He'll bring His great vengeance down upon you, just like in the scriptures!"

"Your bullshit doesn't scare me." Shikamaru replied, pulling out a single kunai with a chain of several paper bombs close behind it. "See, you and I have very different beliefs. I believe in the Will of Fire." his stare on Hidan sharpening now. "And that pathetic Lord Jashin isn't your God anymore." he raised the kunai, preparing to launch it to cave in the hole.

"I am. The only one bringing down vengeance is me."

Without a moment longer in wait, he tossed the kunai to the side of the pit, the paper bomb exploding, causing the rocks to fall down and begin burying the body parts of Hidan.

"Remember what I said! The Jashinist scripture says He _will_ smite you. Got it?" he yelled as a large rock slammed into his head, his hysterical laughter still being heard. "And I will carry out his judgement!"

Shikamaru said nothing as he turned and walked away from the pit, hearing Hidan's final words as he was buried under the rocks.

"My teeth are enough to take you on! I'll bite you to death, motherfucker!"

(End Flashback)

"**I'll bite you to death, motherfucker!**" echoed his voice in Shikamaru's head. It didn't bother him then, why is it all of a sudden coming back to him now?

"Hey, Shikamaru."

Back to reality, Shikamaru glanced over at Kiba, not realizing they were already back in the Hokage's office reporting what they had found. Shinta had since left, surprising him that he didn't even notice that.

"Huh? Sorry."

"I'm going to need to organize a team to scout around the Land of Fire to check for any sign of Akatsuki activity. Be ready in case I need to call either of you two. Chances are I will since you're some of the few who are even aware of what is going on."

"Understood." they replied.

"Under no circumstances are you to tell _anyone_ this until we get a confirmation. The last thing we need is a full-scale panic alert after we had to deal with Pain." Tsunade glanced at Kiba. "I know Sakura is my student, but do not tell her. I think I made that clear in my letter already."

"Yes ma'am." he said back.

"Very well. You are dismissed."

**X X X**

The three partners took to a relaxed walking pace as they slowly made their way past the borders into the Land of Fire. The instructions Zetsu left them were simple, well, to Trunks they were. Find the nine-tails, bring him back alive, and take the beast out, while Itachi and Kisame capture the eight-tails. It was rather tranquil, and even though Deidara was a few years younger than him, he was a decent leader, though when he got off with talking about art Trunks felt awkward listening to him at times, unsure of what to say. His hot-head attitude was obvious, but he was at least knowledgeable from the look of things.

"So Trunks." said Deidara. "What exactly _can_ you do?"

Trunks, who was standing on the right side, Deidara in the middle, and Tobi on the left, turned to face the team leader. "What do you mean?"

"You know, special abilities, a kekkei genkai, yeah."

_Why does he always do those grunts?... Maybe he has a condition or something?_ He scratched the back of his head. "Uh, well I..." _Hey! I got it!_

Trunks stopped, catching the other two's attention.

"Whatcha doing, Trunks?" Tobi asked.

"I know it's not much but." Trunks said as he concentrated his energy to his feet, lifting himself off of the ground as he levitated about ten feet off of the ground in front of the two Akatsuki.

"Not bad." said Deidara.

"SENPAI! HE'S _FLYING,_ SENPAI!" shrieked Tobi as he ran circles around Deidara, who just tripped him to get him to stop being so frantic.

"Will you relax, Tobi?"

Trunks just laughed at Tobi as he got back to his feet and began running circles around Deidara again in excitement for seeing him fly, even if it was just a simple levitate.

"So you can fly?" Deidara asked.

"Well, it's one thing. But ever since I've been here I've kind of felt weird... like my abilities aren't at their usual strength." he replied as he let himself down to the ground level.

"I see... you wouldn't happen to be from Iwagakure, would you?"

"Huh? Where's that?" Trunks asked, confused.

"Ah, never mind. I had a teacher in that village. He can fly, too. Thought maybe he taught you, yeah."

"Well... what about you, Deidara?"

"Me? What about me?"

"I mean your abilities, are they anything like mine?"

Deidara chuckled.

"Oh, boy. Now you've done it, Trunks!" said Tobi, shaking his head in disapproval with his arms crossed.

"What? What did I do?"

Reaching into a small pouch filled with clay, Deidara stuck his hand inside one and pulled it out, opening his hand for Trunks to see it.

"Watch, yeah." he said as he clasped his hands together. In moments, he opened the same hand that held the splotch of clay, revealing it to be a spider.

_A spider?... That's what he does?_

"Look!" said an eager Deidara. "There's such detail in the lines that it exceeds a two-dimensional form. However, that's not all there is to my art." he said as he looked directly at Trunks. "My creations come to life!"

"Oh, man! He's on another art rant!" whined Tobi.

"As a shape, it's nothing more than clay, yeah. But... it explodes!" he happily stated. "When it explodes, it changes, and becomes my art's true form for the first time! The only time you can see my true art is when it undergoes that change, yeah!"

In that moment, Deidara took the spider he had created, and tossed it into the air, far above the three as he held his fingers to his face.

"Art... is an explosion!" he said as he activated his ability.

"Katsu!"

The explosion took Trunks way off guard as the teeny tiny spider he had just seen exploded into something that could probably knock down buildings. Deidara just crossed his arms, impressed with his work as they began walking again.

"How do you change the clay by mashing your hands together?" Trunks asked.

"My ability." Deidara replied, showing him his hands, their mouths wide open. It took him by surprise, giving somewhat of a confused look, but it made sense to him, as he tried not to offend his partner.

"It's okay. I'm used to it."

"Used to what?"

"What people say. It was pretty annoying growing up, yeah."

Trunks was going to reply but stopped as the three heard something off in the distance. A moment later, dozens of shuriken were shot towards them. Trunks jumped in the way of the two, pulling his sword out and deflecting all of them with ease.

"Ohhh WOW! Did you see that, senpai! Trunks was like, whoooooosh!"

"Two... four... seven." the Saiyan thought out loud as he felt the energy readings around them.

Deidara just glanced at the back of Trunks. _That's insane... he was already in front of us when I heard those things go flying. He's fast, yeah. Definitely faster than I am._

Just as he predicted, seven hunter ninja, sporting a headband with two diagonal lines on top of two others appeared in front of them. An older man with lighter gray hair kept in a military cut walked in front of them to speak. Trunks could feel he was definitely the strongest out of the group, but his energy felt... bizarre. Not like ki at all.

"Looks like we found you, Deidara. And here I was thinking the rumors about you being dead were true!"

"Ah, man, you again, Tokaku?" he whined. "Can't you go bother somebody else?"

"You know him?" Trunks said, keeping his sword in front of him, not looking back for fear of being attacked. _Wait, why am I worried? I'm way stronger than these guys! But earlier... I may have been able to stop those shurikens, but I felt so much slower... Is this time holding back my power?_

"They're from Kisame's village, Kirigakure. Since I left my village, these guys have been chasing me down when the Tsuchikage hired them. Especially Tokaku, my father hired him to hunt me down and drag me back to Iwa, or kill me- Can't you feel the family love? They're hunter-nins, yeah."

He smirked before looking at Trunks. "This doesn't concern you, friend. Akatsuki or not, we have business to attend to. Cooperate, and we won't bring harm to you or your masked friend."

"Like hell!" Trunks said, gripping his sword as he noticed the other six ninja pulling out assorted weapons.

Deidara stepped up to his side. "I got your back, yeah."

"No. Let me handle this."

"Huh?"

Trunks smirked. "Watch this."

**X X X**

It was over as quickly as it began, six of the hunters falling dead to the ground in unison as Trunks stood behind Tokaku, clasping his sword back into his sheath.

"You're pretty quick, kid." said Tokaku, pulling a short sword out from behind his back and swinging it in a one-eighty, Trunks dodging the attack and getting behind him, the older hunter kicking his foot to knock his sword out of his hands. "But you lack experience. Your stance is too sloppy, or do you just not take me seriously enough to keep your guard up?"

"Heh. We'll see about that." Trunks said as he jumped back as he grabbed his sword, opening his palm and directing it in his direction.

_He's getting a lot of chakra into that hand...Got it._ thought the hunter nin as he prepared to dodge the attack.

"Take this!" Trunks yelled as he fired a yellow ki blast towards him. As Tokaku anticipated, he quickly jumped up, avoiding the shot, but noticed the loud explosion coming from behind him as a large portion of the forest they were by was completely blown away.

Deidara and Tobi were in complete shock. Deidara especially. _He just... shot out pure chakra. Absolutely pure chakra... And it exploded! _he glanced over at Trunks, who had an easy-going face about him as he did that. _Trunks... you... you understand art, yeah!_

"Senpai! He just went _Katsu!_ without any clay or without actually _saying Katsu!_ Did you see that? Senpai? _Katsu! _with no _Katsu!_" Tobi frantically asked in excitement while waving his arms around for witnessing his new partner's abilities.

_This kid's got power. I can't take him by myself. I need a way out._ Tokaku thought as reached into his pocket with his left hand and tossed down a kunai laced with a paper bomb.

"Tobi! Trunks!" Deidara said as he jumped away from the paper bomb, Tobi did the same.

"What the?" Trunks said looking at it.

"Move you idiot! That's a paper bomb!"

Trunks quickly flew up to avoid the blast. Now the three partners were in a separate triangle like formation.

_Got you._ Tokaku thought as he clapped his hands once together.

"Water Style: Water Shockwave!"

In moments the loud roaring of a tidal wave was heard, then seen as it quickly raised up tens of several feet into the air. Coming out too quickly, neither of the three had time to react as the tidal wave came crashing down on top of them, engulfing all three of them and flooding into the rest of the forest, dragging them along with it.

Tokaku finally came down to the ground, letting out a heavy sigh. "I'm getting too old for this. That boy... I'm lucky." he said as he quickly turned and ran the opposite way of where the water was still rushing.

**X X X**

His head was ringing, ears filled with water, clothes quadrupled in weight by the water soaking in them. The first thing Trunks could process in his mind was Tobi calling out to Deidara. A repetitive "Senpaiiii! Oh senpaiiii!" kept playing in his mind as he slowly opened his eyes to see Tobi standing not too far away from him.

"Oh! Trunks! You're awake now!" said Tobi.

"Tobi...? Why are you dry? I thought you got hit, too?"

"Nope! Guess I'm just too quick!" he declared, placing his hands to his sides like a superhero.

Trunks stood up, glancing around at where they were. The trees from here and in the entire radius were flattened almost. It was awful. _How did that guy create a wave of water just like that? Out of dry land?_

"Hey, Tobi! Where's Deidara?"

Tobi shrugged his shoulders. "Trying to find him now. He sure picked a bad time to go play hide and go seek the senpai."

"Yeah... yeah I guess."

**X X X**

"Arf!"

Kiyosato and Salayna were taking a walk around the village gates. Being their parent's anniversary, they took to a night to themselves, leaving them alone with nothing to do, though Takamaru was enjoying the outside much more than the two Inuzukas.

"So what do you think dad saw when he went out, big brother?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "No clue, he said he couldn't talk about it."

"Mom looked upset when he said that." she frowned.

He nodded. "Yeah..." he felt bad every time he saw their mother upset or worried whenever Kiba had an assignment he couldn't talk about. She always worried that he might not come back, and always told them to never take their friendships or times with people they love for granted. He understood what she meant, but she would bring it up every time he would go on a mission without her. Almost like an instinct. "Mom's weird like that. Don't worry!" he smiled, nudging her shoulder playfully.

She smiled back reassured from her brother it was nothing to worry about. Their parents didn't fight much, but it was their jobs as ninjas that they couldn't talk about some things. And that's what upset Sakura was keeping secrets, even if it's for the village. Still, she knew her father did not do it intentionally, he was rather important to the village being a shinobi for as long as he had been.

"What the?" Kiyosato said as he stopped in his tracks.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

He lifted his foot up and stepped back down. It was wet, muddy almost. _The ground's soaked... but where's the nearest river? No way it flooded. What happened?_

"Arf!"

Kiyosato gave his attention to his dog as he was pointing his face in the collection of trees close by. He whiffed the air and decided it would be a good idea to investigate. "Wait here, sis." he said as he and Takamaru trudged through the wet ground, squishing it with every step.

"Kiyosato?" called his sister as she followed him anyway. After a few moments of stepping over broken twigs and wet brush, they stopped as they saw someone sitting. He had his head down, his long blonde hair falling down completely covering his face as he sat still.

"Who is that?" she asked.

"I don't know... but he's not from this village judging by his robes, plus he has an Iwa headband." her brother pointed out, noticing his black robe with the red clouds painted across them. _Mom and dad mentioned something about those robes a few times... What did they mean again... ?_

"I'm gonna go find mom and dad." Kiyosato said. "We'll be back. Stay here, sis. Make sure this guy doesn't move."

"What? Wait, Kiyosato!" she called, but he and his companion had already taken off back towards the village. She was by herself now, noticing the man slowly groaning as he rubbed his temples.

"Damn you... Tokaku... Hate water." he said, looking up to notice the area around him was completely soaked. His eyes focused quickly as he noticed a young girl standing not too far away from him, her shoulder length red hair danced in the wind as she watched him with her emerald eyes. She was young, quite a few years younger than he was by the looks of it.

His head still pounding, he kept a hand on it as he finally spoke up. "Ugh... fucking head..."

"Are you okay?" she asked as she approached him, kneeling down in front of him.

Deidara glanced at her worried look as she lowered her hands onto his chest, a medical chakra aura appearing around them.

"My mother taught me a little bit about medical jutsu. When she shows up she'll heal you. I'm just trying to stop the pain... are you okay?"

Something about her looked familiar, but he couldn't place it. She couldn't be older than thirteen, and he'd been dead for about that long. No... she looked like someone he knew, or seen, rather. She was cute, though. Blue capris and a jacket with a hood that hung at the back with fur lining it. There was also fur along the cuffs of her sleeves. Underneath her jacket, since it wasn't zipped up all the way, was just a plain white shirt.

"I'm uh... fine, yeah."

His robes were catching her eyes. She liked them. The clouds were a nice touch. His headband was unique as well. She knew the village, but there was a line crossed through the middle. Did he mess it up during a mission? She wasn't sure. "It doesn't look like you've got big injuries. What happ-"

Deidara panicked as he noticed her headband. _Konoha... Konoha!_ "Get-Get away from me!" he shouted, squirming away from her as he tried to stand up, but slipped in the wet ground and landed back in with a small splash.

Her eyes were confused, and now scared. What did she do?

"You... You're a Konoha shinobi. How do I know you weren't just trying to kill me? That you didn't lace that jutsu with a poison or a pressure jutsu to stop my heart? How did you know I was alive?"

"What are you talking about? I was trying to help you!" she said, still unsure why he was acting this way. Was he running from her village?

Deidara took his hands to his pouches and fed his hands clay, but stopped. _She's not coming after me... she doesn't even have a kunai drawn, yeah._

"I wasn't... trying to hurt you. I know I'm a stranger... but I'm just trying to help."

He could hear the sadness in her voice. Maybe it was a trap, and maybe all the years being dead dulled his senses considerably, but she was just a girl, and he was a lot more focused now. He had a feeling he could handle a few surprises from one little girl if she tried anything.

"I don't have a good history with Konoha... or any villages when I think about it. Sorry, yeah."

They kept their distance as they sat across from each other. Deidara leaned against a tree while Salayna stayed with her legs crossed, neither worried about the soaked ground beneath them.

"That a birthmark or something?" he asked.

Salayna touched her cheeks and nodded. "From my father. I'm an Inuzuka. My name's Salayna." she smiled, instead of reaching for a hand shake due to the distance between them.

"Deidara." he replied. "Wait, you're an Inuzuka? Why don't you have a dog?"

Ah, yes. The question everyone asked... the reason everyone judged her and laughed at her. Her smile fell to a frown and a look of hurt filled her eyes as she remembered what happened that day.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked.

"He's... he died on a mission, last year." she quietly said, looking at the ground, a small reflection of water in the grass staring back at her.

_Great. Nice job making kids cry, yeah._ Deidara thought to himself. "Sorry... I guess that was kind of stupid of me to ask since he wasn't with you."

"It's okay." she replied, still staring at the ground. "I'm used to it."

"Used to people asking you about your dog?"

"Used to people judging me because of it."

"H-Hey! I wasn't judging you, yeah!" he said. "But... I know what you mean." he then thought of an idea. He placed his hands together, a simple act to her, unknown what he was going to do as a small smirk escaped his face. "What did he look like?"

**X X X**

_What was the name of it! Man this is the WORST time to draw a blank!_ Kiyosato thought as he ran through the streets, dodging civilians and ninja the like, trying to think of where his parents went to eat. He turned a corner and unexpectedly crashed into someone, knocking them both down while Takamaru barked at his master for not watching when he turns corners.

"Ah, what the hell!" he growled as he gripped his head. "Sorry, are you-"

_**POW!**_

Kiyosato quickly planted his face into the pavement as the daughter of the lazy Nara stood up, patting down her skirt in embarrassment.

"What's the matter with you! Can't you watch where the hell you're going?"

"Yeah... hey, Aki." he said weakly.

"Ugh... here." she sighed, reaching her hand out, to which the Inuzuka took it and stood up. She was almost as tall as he was. Out of the parents, she definitely resembled her mother the most. She had the eyes, the spiky hair, and the... the... the.

"Um, Kiyosato?" she asked, bringing him out of his stare. He couldn't help it, he was of age, and Aki was anything but ugly. He felt like she knew that, and showed it off, much to his dislike since he knew if he said anything to her about it, she'd most likely punch him again like she did just now. She definitely didn't inherit her father's patience. She wore a black skirt ending right before her knees, with a matching sleeveless black shirt lined with mesh underneath that went up to her wrists. She wore her headband at her forehead, just like the majority of the ninjas did in their age group. One of the few things she inherited, physically, from her father, was his hair color. Beyond that, she was almost a total reflection of her mother, minus the spiky black ponytail that was tied down with two long bangs hanging from each side.

"Oh. Sorry, I'm just looking for my parents. You haven't seen them, have you?"

"They're with mine and Shinta's and Natsuko's parents, right down the road. I just saw them, why?"

"Thanks! Gotta go!" he said, running past her as she watched him speed away.

She shook her head. "Goof."

**X X X**

"How are we doing guys? Would anyone care for any dessert?" asked the waiter.

It was a full table filled with four couples that finally had the time to sit down and talk. Sakura suggested that since they spent the entire day together after he came back from his assignment he couldn't tell her about, that they spend the evening with their old friends they had only seen every so often.

Shino and Hinata sat across from them. Shino had since stopped wearing the large clothing, keeping only his sunglasses on, which Hinata made him take off whenever they were home. He was still insistent on wearing them everywhere else, though. Regardless, they were happy. Hinata took care of most of the things, but still kept training, while Shino handled most of the heavier and more dangerous missions. Like Kiba and Sakura, their appearance hadn't changed at all.

To their right were Shikamaru and Temari. Probably the funniest couple out of all of them, since they always joked about Shikamaru being under the foot, which he didn't deny at times. She really did call most of the shots, but acknowledged that in the end, Shikamaru could make better decisions. It was just a hassle for the poor Nara since their daughter had taken so much after her mother, leaving Shikamaru to feel like he was always going to have to prepare for battle against either of them. It seemed hectic, but you could tell they were happy, even when they were arguing.

The most surprising couple out of those four, however, was Naruto and Ino, who sat across from Shikamaru and Temari. Strangely they fit, even though they couldn't really describe it. Sakura had fulfilled her promise and set the two up, thinking it would be an awful disaster since she figured the two personalities would clash too much, but much to her surprise, it went rather well. Naruto had grown up a lot, especially since their child's conception, much like Sakura's and Kiba's, was not planned at all. It demanded a lot, and she and everyone else, including Ino were surprised at how much the jinchuriki had grown up.

"Yeah! Let me have uhh..." Naruto quickly flipped through the menu. "There it is! The six layer chocolate cake!"

Kiba didn't like that. He had secretly been trying to out eat Naruto the entire night, and he had a feeling he had caught on when Naruto kept asking for more bread throughout the meal. "You know what? Cake sounds good, let me have one also!"

"I thought you said you were full?" Sakura asked him confused. Her words fell on deaf ears as Kiba and Naruto were busy staring each other off.

"Two's better than one, let me have another one." said Naruto.

"One plus two makes three, so I'll have three slices!" Kiba replied.

"Yeah? Well two plus three makes fou... wait, no it doesn't."

Ino giggled while glancing over at Sakura. "Can't you tell I married him for his brains?"

Sakura just rolled her eyes as their husbands kept trying to outdo each other. "You should see our grocery bill. Kiyosato's almost as bad as this one when it comes to food." she said, pinching Kiba's arm.

"FIVE SLICES!" yelled Kiba.

"SIX!" shouted back Naruto.

The waiter just stood in confusion as the two weren't even talking to him anymore, just butting heads across the table, literally.

"THE WHOLE CAKE!" yelled Kiba.

"TWO CAKES!" shouted Naruto right back.

"THE REST OF THE CAKES IN THE BAKERY!"

"KIBA!"

"NARUTO!"

They didn't realize their battle for best eater had caught the attention of everyone in the restaurant, leaving the waiter very nervous as he still stayed waiting for their order... if they were going to order, anyway. Sakura and Ino grabbed their respective men and dragged them off of each other, sitting them down.

"Actually, we'll just take a piece to go." said Sakura, causing the waiter to comically fall over.

"We'll take one, too." added on Ino.

The waiter cleared his throat. "Yes, of course. I'll be back soon." and walked off.

Kiyosato finally found his way into the restaurant, only to almost trip over Akamaru when he entered.

"Akamaru?"

"Your father's inside. They don't let dogs past the front." he said, keeping his head laid down.

"Yeah, okay, thanks!" he said while leaving his companion with the older dog as he looked for his parents, finally coming to a large table in the middle of several.

"Mom! Dad!"

Kiba and Sakura turned their attention to the voice calling them as their son came up to their side, catching his breath.

"Kiyosato?" asked Sakura.

Kiba smelt something on him, figuring why he came here. "What's wrong?"

"Me and Salayna... we found a body, right outside the village. It had the black robe with the... the red clouds painted on them like you were telling us about!"

"What?" the entire table asked in equal surprise, the table coming to a complete halt in conversation as all the eyes focused on him.

"Yeah! She's watching him right now, come on!" he said, running towards the door without them.

"You left your sister there by herself?" shouted Sakura as her and Kiba got up, chasing after him, the other three couples nodding to each other and following right after.

"Alright guys here's your..." the waiter said as he noticed an empty table with the bill paid for on the table.

"I hate my job."

**END!**

Andddd there's your second chapter! Go go go! Onto #3! I can't say "see you next time," cause I'm giving you 3 chapters to start... so yeah.


	3. Chapter 3

Some crazy stuff is happening, but everything is subsiding... or is it? If it isn't one thing, it's another!

Chapter 3

"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" shouted Tobi as he and Trunks flew around while the Saiyan held onto his shoulders, looking for Deidara. Trunks still found it funny only he and Deidara's supposed teacher could fly, much less how much enjoyment Tobi found in it. He was like a child, easily amused.

"Hey Tobi do you see anything?" Trunks asked. He couldn't sense him anywhere, so he figured he was pretty low on energy. Best thing to do was do a physical search, but it was getting late, their visibility was starting to suffer.

"Deidara-senpai? He's right over there." he replied, pointing over to a small clearing a few hundred feet away from Konoha.

"Why didn't you just say so!" Trunks asked, annoyed as he flew towards the area.

"Cause Tobi LOVES flying!" he yelled as they flew towards where their missing partner was.

**X X X**

"And he was yellow." said Salayna. The entire time she had been describing her lost companion to Deidara, she hadn't realized he had been working on something. His way of saying "Thanks for not killing me or turning me over to the village."

She was confused as she watched his hands stay tightly together. What was he doing?

"Does he look like..." Deidara opened his hands, on his right hand stood a small clay figurine of a Labrador Retriever, described just the way the Inuzuka told him, minus the color of course due to the whiteness of the clay. "... this?"

Her emerald eyes lit up, and a happy smile spread across her face as she stood up and walked towards him, taking the figurine into her hands.

"Yes! It looks just like him!" she happily laughed. "But how did you do that?"

Deidara smirked, lifting his hands up and opening the palms. "I know what it's like... To be judged, just like you, yeah."

_Mouths?_ she thought as she glanced at them. It was odd, but it made her realize that even though she had lost her companion and it was hard being looked at like she was, someone always had it worse. Like him. But then again, he didn't seem sad or upset or anything. He seemed normal, considering he was still pretty hurt from whatever got him there. She still didn't know what was happening, she just wished her brother would come back.

"Hey sis, where are you?"

She turned her head as her sense of smell picked up her brother, along with several others heading her way. He was a ways away, but he could hear his voice, he was getting closer.

"Looks like help is-" she stopped as she noticed he wasn't where he was sitting before. She quickly looked around, but he was nowhere. "Deidara?"

A moment later, her parents, along with the parents of her and her brother's friends had dropped down. Sakura quickly rushed over to her daughter and grabbed her, relieved she was alright.

"Are you okay? Why were you waiting out here?" she asked.

"I'm okay, Mom. I was just watching the guy who got hurt, but he's gone now."

Kiba's nose picked up another scent he wasn't familiar with. "He's not that far away. I smell him. But I smell... clay?"

"That's not all." said Akamaru. "Something else is close by, but I've never smelt something like it before. Hard to describe."

"Hinata." said Shino as he glanced over, noticing his wife had already taken the step, scanning the area with her bloodline trait. "You see anything?" he asked.

"... Three of them. They're... flying?" she said, confused as she focused more. "Kiyosato's right... Black robes... red clouds."

"No way!" Naruto said.

"Akatsuki? Are you sure?" Ino asked.

Hinata nodded. "I'm sure."

"Ah, dammit." said Kiba. It made sense now. Hidan's body being dug up, that murder in the morgue he heard about, and now this. Something wasn't right, he could tell as he and Shikamaru exchanged an understanding nod.

"Dad? What's going on?" asked Kiyosato. "What do... those robes mean?"

"They're not friends, son. They're Akatsuki... and it looks like they got tired of waiting for us to make a move."

"Make a move?" Sakura asked.

Shikamaru sighed. "Kiba and Shinta went with me to the Nara forest this morning, in case you guys were wondering what was happening."

"Well what happened?" asked Naruto.

"One of my dad's men was doing a routine check when he noticed something strange. That crater I dug and buried Hidan in? Well... it was open."

They all looked on in shock aside from him and Kiba who had already known.

"That... crazy psychopath with the triple bladed scythe that killed Asuma-sensei is free now?" Ino asked, grabbing onto Naruto's arm.

"I don't know anything, Ino." Shikamaru started. "All I know is that all of his body parts were removed from the pit by the time we got there. He may have been immortal, but you can't survive without food or water for thirteen years straight. You eventually die from the lack of nutrients."

"That mysterious killing at the morgue this morning." Kiba said. "That wasn't just another person."

"No." Shikamaru stepped in. "The nurse that saw what happened claimed to have seen the cabinet for Kakuzu's body opened, except Kakuzu was gone."

"What could the Akatsuki want with the dead bodies of their former members..." Shino thought out loud.

"Maybe they're planning on doing something about that whole 'dead' thing." Temari said. "The Second Hokage's jutsu he made for bringing others back to life could be the reason we've been seeing so many weird things going on."

"Maybe, but it's too soon to tell." Shikamaru replied.

"We need to tell granny right now!" Naruto declared.

"That's exactly why we weren't suppose to tell you, Naruto. Or anyone for that matter." said Kiba. "We have no idea what's going on, and if we just go off the handle and get everyone riled up, we'll be back where we were thirteen years ago."

"Salayna." Sakura said, looking at her daughter. "Your brother said this person you were with had a black robe with red clouds painted on it. Is that true?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

She sighed. "What did he look like?"

"Um... He was kind of young. And he had really long blonde hair and blue eyes."

"What?" Sakura said, stepping back. "Are you sure? What was his name? Did he tell you?"

"He told me his name was Deidara, why?"

"He's... He's dead, though... How was he... ?" Naruto asked out loud, just as surprised as his former teammate was.

"We _need_ to tell the Hokage this, Naruto." Ino said, tugging on his arm.

"She's right, Shikamaru, we can't keep this a secret anymore. If the Akatsuki are doing something, we're going to need to be ready for them." Kiba said.

He shrugged his shoulders. "I guess it was just a matter of time before the cat got out of the bag."

They all agreed and made their way back towards the village, silent as the majority of them were in disbelief three members of the Akatsuki they thought they had killed were disappearing, and suddenly reappearing.

**X X X**

"Release."

The barrier protecting their hideout lifted as the three members entered inside to find the living quarters empty.

"That could have gone better, yeah."

"Why did we leave if the village was right there? Couldn't we have just taken the nine-tails?"

"You're not used to being stealthy are you, Trunks? Then again, that explosion you did was anything but discreet, yeah."

"Yeah... sorry about that. I thought I was holding back when I fired that off but-"

"Wait, you were holding _back_ when you shot that?"

"Well yeah, if I had actually put a lot more power behind it, I probably would have taken out that mountain in the distance."

Deidara and Tobi just stared at him in complete shock.

"What?" Trunks asked, wondering if he said the wrong thing.

"You know what, Trunks? You're not bad, yeah."

**X X X**

"So Deidara said we had to go, saying it was too hot to be around the village even though the nine-tails showed up after we picked him up." explained Trunks to the Illusive Man over the projector.

"I see. Deidara was right to be cautious, although now sneaking in will be much more difficult now that they are aware the Akatsuki are active again in the Land of Fire."

"So what's the plan?"

"You said they only saw Deidara's face, not yours?"

He shook his head. "No. I grabbed him before anyone saw me or Tobi."

He chuckled in his thoughts. _That's the name you've given yourself. Clever._ "Then it's time for us to gather information." he said as he tapped his cigarette, letting the ashes fall to the ground. "Do you remember how to get there?"

"Uh... yeah, I do. It wouldn't be that bad."

"Good. Then meet me in Konoha tomorrow, in the middle of town."

"What?" Trunks asked in shock. He was just talking about being a good idea to leave, now he wants to jump right into the heart of the city?

"Successful espionage depends entirely on not being noticed. Everyone has seen or heard of the rest of the Akatsuki, and since you are yet to be seen by anyone of the village, nor have I, we can successfully infiltrate and gather information should we play our cards right posing as regulars."

"Okay. But what are we trying to find out? More stuff about the nine-tails?"

"Yes. Everything we can without drawing suspicion. Simple things: What is his name, how old is he? Does he have any family? If asked indirectly and separate individuals bring it up in casual conversation, we can avoid detection all together."

"Alright... I'll head out tomorrow then."

"One more thing, Trunks."

"What?"

"Don't wear your robe. It's a red flag across every nation."

He looked down at his Akatsuki robe. Yeah, it was definitely going to draw a lot of attention if people were that nervous after seeing Deidara. "Got it."

**X X X**

He was surprised how quickly he felt himself fitting in the first week of him being here. Granted he felt Tobi and Deidara were his only 'friends' if you'd like to call them, he still got along with the others to the point where he felt like they didn't want to kill him. Or maybe he was just nervous and it led to his paranoia.

He took his boots off and laid back in the bed with the room they provided for him. A fairly large one, even though he was told that all the others were roughly along the same size, he still felt spoiled. One medium sized window was all that the room had, but in space, it was fairly good-sized, with a bathroom attached to it, even though he had that back home... _his_ home.

_I know these guys need my help... but still..._

The door opened as Trunks sat in the middle of his bed with his legs crossed as Zetsu came in, facing him at the end of the bed.

"_How ya settling in?_ **This mission was more than just a failure. It was a test of loyalty.**"

"Loyalty?" he asked. But he figured it made sense. He could have just taken off at anytime he was with Tobi or Deidara, but where could he go? Still, he was glad to know he passed... whatever that meant.

Zetsu held out a small box, opening it to reveal a ring. It was a purple-gray color, with the character _rei, _or, _zero_ labeled in the center of the ring.

"And I... passed?" he asked.

"_Yep._"

Trunks took the ring, the instructions simply told him to wear it over his right thumb, which he did and was surprised at how well it fit.

"**Welcome to the family.**"

**END!**

Yep, I did it. Trunks is in the Akatsuki, AND I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU SAY! =( But just wait, I promise, some stuff will happen, and then some more stuff will happen, and then you'll be like =O when it's all said and done! Anddd there's your first 3 chapters to start the story off. Please review, and I'll see you guys next time!


	4. Chapter 4

Hey, y'all. Hope you guys liked the beginning... tried to pan it out without overdoing it, so hopefully I managed to do that. Since I'm attempting to cover as much as I can with people, there may be(I haven't done it yet, I'm just letting you know) a chapter where I completely never mention Kiba or Sakura. Rest assured they're still the main characters/pairing, but I'm trying to cover more ground in this sequel. :)

Any who, here ya go!

Chapter 4

_Guess I should drop out now._ Trunks thought as he descended from flying to the ground as he approached the upcoming village. He was still really nervous about this assignment, not only going into a village where this weapon was, but he's still not one-hundred percent convinced the Illusive Man is being straight forward with him.

Finally making his way past the front gate, he was stopped by two shinobi. One wearing a piece of white cloth wrapped around his nose stretching to the back of his head, and another with his chin covered by the undershirt of his uniform.

"Welcome to Konoha, what business do you have here today?"

"Me?" Trunks pointed to himself.

"Yes." said the man with the covered chin. "We've never seen you here before, so you'll need to take this registration form to the Hokage's office if you are here as a client."

"A client? but I'm-"

"Yeah." said the man with the white bandage across his nose. "Your boss was here just a few minutes ago. Older looking guy, said you'd be coming by here. Even if you're not a client directly yourself, any associated individuals must coincide with the papers for accountability. Standard procedure."

_Really? The least you could have done is tell me._ "Oh, uh, right. What do I need to sign again?"

**X X X**

Quite a bit of paperwork for the Saiyan as he made his way down the road towards the Hokage's office. He could feel people staring at him. He figured it might be because of his sword, but it's a village full of ninjas, what's the big deal if he had a weapon on his back? Then again, after hearing a group of girls whistling at him, he figured it probably because of his looks. _Figures. _he rolled his eyes. _ Couldn't get any peace back home either. Not sure which parent to blame for this one._

As he passed by a small ramen shop, Trunks couldn't ignore his stomach as it loudly declared its need to feed inside him. "I guess he wouldn't mind if I grabbed some food first."

He walked in to see an older man with mixed gray and black hair fixing noodles for another customer who was sitting down already. A woman, who appeared to be his daughter, greeted him as he entered.

"Hi! Welcome to Ichiraku Ramen Shop." she said. "You're... not from around here, are you?"

_Geez, am I that obvious?_ Trunks thought. "Um... yeah, you're right. I'm not from here, this is my first time in Konoha."

"Well have a seat, son, we'll fix you up a bowl. What'll you have?" said the older man as he approached him, handing the bowl of ramen to the other customer.

Trunks glanced through the menu before finally coming to a decision. "Let me have... the miso ramen."

"No problem, coming right up." said Teuchi. "So you say you're not from around here? Where ya from, then?"

"I'm from Wes-... I mean..." he had to think of something quick... What did he put on the forms? There it was! "Iwa, that's where I'm from."

"You're a long ways from home." said Ayame. "But I don't see a headband on your forehead. Are you a shinobi?" she asked while noticing his sword.

"Oh. No, I'm not. I'm uh... I'm a bodyguard for my boss. He's meeting with the Hokage."

"Well, either way, we're glad to have ya." said Teuchi as he served Trunks a bowl of ramen. "Here ya go!"

"Thank you." he said while reaching for his chop sticks.

Teuchi and Ayame watched as Trunks wolfed down bowl after bowl, after each one politely asking for another until he finally stopped on his tenth bowl. He patted his stomach down in victory as he let out a sigh, taking a drink of water they had given him after his third bowl.

"Haha! Hungry?" asked Teuchi as he reached for the tab.

"It's been a while since I've had some good food. I haven't been home for a little while."

"Iwagakure is quite a ways from here. Plus if you're a bodyguard I'm sure you don't see home very often." added Ayame.

Trunks smirked. He didn't like lying, but he remembered what happened last time he interfered with the past like he did. Even now, he was already meddling in things he shouldn't be. "Something like that."

"Here's your bill." said Teuchi as he handed the tab over to Trunks. The Saiyan reached into his pocket but was shocked as he came to the realization; he didn't have any money!

"!" he panicked. _How do you forget money? Wait, this currency is way different than back home. Plus I don't even have my wallet, good going, Trunks! Now I'm gonna have to wash dishes for a week to work this debt off!_ His mind kept racing until he was stopped as he heard a hand set down the money to pay the bill, a soft and feminine voice entering his ears.

"I got it."

He looked over to her. She was the one he saw when he first entered, and must have been watching him while he ate to pick up he didn't have any money as quickly as he realized it. She was around his age, maybe a few years older, a pink sleeveless blouse and dark green pants with her hair pulled up into two Chinese-style buns. On her forehead was a typical headband most shinobi wore in the village, her hair touching the edges of the top of the headband as she gave him a sweet smile assuring him she had the bill paid for.

"T-Thanks..." he said.

She reached her hand out. "Tenten."

He took her hand as they shook. "Trunks. Nice to meet you."

**X X X**

"So?"

"So, what?"

Deidara and Sasori were temporarily reunited as they went to scout out for Itachi and Kisame after they hadn't returned from searching for Killer Bee. Tobi lead the way, loudly grunting in each step in an attempt to motivate his teammates to move quicker, but only resulted in Deidara blasting him into the horizon from time to time out of sheer annoyance.

"Come on, Sasori, my man, it's been a week since you were helping Zetsu out with whatever it is you were doing. What happened?"

The tired red head shrugged his shoulders. "It wasn't..."

(Flashback)

"How the hell do you know that?" demanded a sad and angry Sasori. When Zetsu required him to help him, he was actually called in by the Illusive Man to help with a particular project.

"Your parents' death is not hidden news, and I did not aim to offend you." he said, inhaling his cigarette before letting out smoke. "In fact, your extensive knowledge of human puppetry is so remarkable, I'd like to offer you a proposition."

"What... kind of proposition?"

"The usage of Human Puppetry preserves the body from decomposition after first hollowing out the body of internal organs and such things not pertaining to the outside shell. What I'm looking for is not just puppetry, but complete recreation of the body, even after severe physical damage makes it almost unidentifiable."

"You're asking for a Reanimation Jutsu... something I do not have knowledge of. That type of jutsu died with my grandmother."

"Not completely." he replied, clearing his throat. "A woman in Konoha named Sakura Haruno has knowledge of the jutsu, recently using it to save her husband's life several years ago."

_Sakura?... Yes, I see. That bratty kunoichi that was looking for Orochimaru... So she's still alive then..._

"You still haven't told me what you were going to give me if I help you."

The Illusive man tapped his cigarette on the arm of his chair before smoking it again and glancing back at him. "There is no _if_ in this situation, Sasori, I can assure you. My request is simple: When you return with Deidara and Tobi on this assignment from Zetsu, I will need you to begin a reanimation serum that requires no jutsu, or hand seals to perform."

"I made poisons... that's my area of expertise. Nothing more." he calmly replied.

"Not necessarily. You'll find that upon a more detailed inspection of your capabilities, creating a human puppet like you did with the Third Kazekage is roughly within the same idea of what I am asking. Rather than preservation, we are seeking a reanimation, and a complete rebirth in itself."

"This is going to take a bit of time... I'll need a laboratory." Sasori lightly demanded. "I still don't know what I'm getting out of this. Why should I help you, when I know nothing of you, and when you claim to be a friend... only to take an interest in your own motives."

The Illusive Man's words about to be spoken were the final ingredients to earn the puppet master's respect and undeniable dedication. He was well informed, in many ways, more than Madara himself.

"Your parents."

Sasori's eyes shot wide open, both in shock and disbelief. _...Wh... What?_ The image of his parents quickly flashed through his head. His father's red hair, his mother's warm smile, and how quickly they left; how quickly they were murdered by Sakumo.

"How...?" he lowly growled.

"You and I are on the same side, Sasori. You'll come to find I am very well informed, but it will be for your own benefit if you carry out my one request, which I believe, you will come to support as well in time."

The words went in and out of the red head's ears as all he could think about was them. The pain, the loneliness of being alone all of his life. He may not be able to reclaim the lost time, but, he would be able to see them again. Maybe if he did that, he could put this whole Akatsuki business behind him, he and his parents could live their lives happily away from all of it.

What did he have to lose?

"Alright... I'll do it."

(End Flashback)

"...anything important." he finished.

"Oh, okay. Thought Zetsu needed you to do something boring like water his plants or something. I think I liked our other leader better, yeah."

"It doesn't matter. Pain is dead, and at the very least, Zetsu is reliable." Sasori replied.

They all kept quiet as they entered a village during the dinner rush as the streets were full. Luckily the entire time they had been walking, they had kept their fishermen hats on them, the white cloth covering their faces without hindering their eyesight as they passed through until...

"! Senpai! Senpai senpai senpai!"

Deidara knew what happened. He didn't even have to check. _Don't tell me it's another-_

Without a chance to finish, the three were staring at a dango shop, Tobi spinning himself around in circles in a frenzied excitement. "Senpai! Senpai! SENPAI!"

His face was hidden, but he didn't try and hide his annoyed expression. _Yep... Another dango shop._

**X X X**

_What is it with this girl and swords?_ thought Trunks as he watched Tenten practically falling in love with his weapon, which he reluctantly let her see, not realizing that she was a specialist in that particular area.

"Hm." she thought out loud as they stood in the middle of the courtyard leading up to the Hokage's office. "The blade is off balance by ½ an inch."

Trunks furrowed his eyebrows. "Uh... are you sure?"

She nodded her head. "Positive." she said as she laid the sword down and pulled out a kunai. "I'll just unscrew this here and-"

"H-Hey, hold on a second!" he said. "I got that sword a long time ago!"

"And? I do this stuff all the time, don't worry." she smiled as she slowly unfastened the hilt. After a few minutes of watching her, he was happily surprised that she was able to not only find the source of the problem, but ultimately fix the sword as she tightened everything back to the way it was.

Twirling the sword around a few times and swinging at the air, she handed it back to him. "Your sword, Mr. Bodyguard from Iwagakure."

Trunks gave a small blush as he scratched the back of his head, taking his sword back and clasping it. "Thanks, but I should probably go up. My boss is probably waiting for me.-"

"Tenten!"

Tenten and Trunks both turned around and saw two people and a dog walking towards them. Trunks figured they were just friends of hers. A young woman with pink hair and emerald eyes with a shinobi flak jacket, and another man by her side wearing the same attire, with shaggy medium-length brown hair, and two red upside down triangles, one on each cheek. To his side was a large white dog with his eyes so slanted, they didn't even seem open.

"Hey Sakura! Hey Kiba! What's up guys?"

"We're just checking in with Lady Tsunade to tell her we finished a mission." said Kiba. His nose started picking up something familiar, primarily off of the person standing next to Tenten. "Who's this guy?"

"Trunks." he quickly replied, his and Kiba's eyes in a deadlock between each other.

Kiba didn't like this guy. The scent... he knew he smelt it sometime ago, recently, too. And the way he looked back at him gave him the _If you try and fight me I'll kill you._ look. Definitely something that naturally put him on edge as Akamaru picked up and growled at Trunks.

"Kiba?" Sakura tugged on his arm. "You okay?"

Kiba snapped out of his trance from the tug. "Those papers in your pockets are for people who have never been to the village before."

_What the? How does he know I have those in my pocket? I never showed him!_ "Have you been watching me?"

"No. I can smell it. Your scent has a funny trace around it. I've smelt it before, and it wasn't at a friendly event, either."

Trunks kept his stare on Kiba as they each held their ground. Finally each woman on the side of the men intervened and separated them. "Alright, you two, that's enough." Sakura and Tenten said in unison.

"Sorry, Sakura, we should get going. Let's talk some other time, okay?" she said as she rushed Trunks away from them towards the entrance.

Kiba just kept his fix on Trunks. He knew something was wrong about that guy, but he couldn't tell what.

"What was that?" Sakura asked. A few moments passed by and Kiba still said nothing as his nose followed the scent all the way into the building. "Hello? Earth to Kiba?"

_I know that scent... Where was it?... It was a mixed scent within others..._

"Wait!" he finally said out loud, taking his pink-haired wife by surprise. "Akamaru?"

"Yeah. There's no mistaking it." he replied.

"Kiba?" she asked, worried.

"That scent, Sakura. I know you don't smell it... but I do. Akamaru's nose and mine are never wrong about this kind of thing... That's the same scent that was mixed in with Deidara's last week."

"What?" Sakura asked in surprise. She definitely wasn't expecting _that_ as an answer. "Are you sure?"

"We need to tell the Hokage, come on!" Kiba said as he pulled onto his wife's hand and they ran up the staircase.

**X X X**

"No problem, I'll be there. See you guys tomorrow!" said Hana as she exited the veterinarian office. Over the course of the thirteen years she had risen up from just another vet to the head of the office itself. She was the top veterinarian, and although it was an esteemed title, she had little free time to herself. At the very least, she was grateful for the Three Haimaru Brothers always sticking by her. It made her day that much easier and clients with dogs that much more comfortable having someone else of the same species in the same room.

The air of dusk was still and relaxing, the occasional breeze felt nice as she made her way home. She chose to stay living with her mother simply because it had the most room to carry all of her books, files, medicines, and other things pertaining to her practice. Finally home, she picked up her mother and Kuromaru were out, most likely on another mission. She was always happy with how much energy her mother still had, even as her age continued to progress. _Then again, the Third Hokage was in his sixties when he died, and he was still stronger than almost everyone in the village._

She passed by the living room and glanced at the pictures above the fireplace. It was the only picture they had of her and Kiba's father and his companion, and every time she looked at it, her brother looked more and more like him, minus her father's hair being much longer. Right next to it were the wedding pictures from his and Sakura's, her amusement in the reception was high since Kiba retaliated by starting a food fight with the cake afterwards, ruining his suit and his wife's dress, but they had the time of their lives, she could tell. Everyone could tell.

And to the last picture on the edge of the fireplace was of her nephew, Kiyosato, named after their father, and his graduation from the academy at age eight, with her niece at his side.

She sighed. She was too busy to try and search for anyone. Besides, she had become so accustomed to doing everything on her own, she figured having someone else in her life would just be a hindrance. She left the living room and ventured upstairs to her room, glancing at the door that led to her brothers room and smiling at the memories they had when they were younger. _Things were sure a lot simpler back then, right little brother?_

Finally entering her room, she sat down at her desk to review some notes she had been working on for an antidote earlier that morning. She reached for a pen but realized it had dried out. She grunted to herself and reached for the shelf next to her, rummaging for a writing instrument of any kind, but froze when she caught the image of something she hadn't seen in years.

An older picture frame with the image of a younger Hana and a young man rushed back memories to that day, and to that man himself. The picture she kept with her until he left, in which she promised she would destroy the picture, but she never did. She couldn't. Sitting underneath a cherry blossom tree, she laid back in the arms of a young shinobi, the bangs of her straight hair flying away in the wind as she held onto his arms which were wrapped around her. The man was about her age, wearing khaki pants and a solid black shirt, the collar ending just before his chin. His headband parted his hair onto two separate sides, each bang falling just an inch past his cheeks. His dark gray eyes were warm and happy, and a sincere smile combined with hers made the picture perfect in every way possible.

"You still have it."

Hana's eyes opened with shock as she quickly grabbed a kunai and tossed it behind her, then fully turning around, pulling out another one and rushing to the voice she had heard, clashing into another kunai herself in under a second flat. The Haimarus snarled at the man she was at an even struggle with, ready to attack when the opportunity arose.

All she could see was the black robe, and the red clouds. She didn't decide to look up at his face until just now. When she did, she gasped, and dropped her kunai to the floor as she stepped back.

"N-No... No..." she raised her hands up. "Release!" she called. It had to be genjutsu, it _had_ to. When nothing happened, she did it again. "Release! Release, god damn it!"

"Hana-"

"DON'T come any closer!" she yelled frantically, picking her fallen kunai up as she raised it in a defensive stance. "You're not... You're not real!"

_But there he is... He's... right there._ her mind debated as his view was absolute now. So little had changed about him... but it made such a difference in how he used to look. His eyes carried such a stern look, his robe distinguishing his affiliation with his hand hanging in the middle... and his headband's horizontal line identified him completely.

Itachi.

He slowly stepped closer to her as she quickly began to tremble in her legs. She finally gave way and fell to her rear, her legs arched in front of her as a hot stream of tears fell down her face. Her companions came to her side, still defensive, but not growing as they remembered his scent. It had been years, but they remembered Itachi. They could smell on him he wasn't going to try and harm their master.

"But you're... dead?" she weakly said.

"It's true... I was. I was brought back just recently."

"The Second Hokage's resurrection jutsu?"

Itachi shook his head. "No. I have complete control over myself. That is why I came here."

"Yeah?" she glared up at him. "And what were you expecting to find? That I'd just take you back after you killed off your entire clan besides your brother, become a member of the Akatsuki, and just... left?" her glare hardened as her tears continued to spawn and fall to the ground. "How could you?"

Itachi knelt down to be eye-level with her. She had definitely aged from the looks of it, but more by maturity. She still looked the same whenever he would sneak to the gates of the village to see her for a few minutes at a time. He would be merely a few feet from her window, on another roof top before her dogs, Akamaru, and Kuromaru started barking and woke everyone in the house up. He did this every so often when he had a break, just to keep an eye on her. It's true, Itachi failed to protect Sasuke, and his little brother lost his way, but he always had someone else on his list, even if she hadn't had him on his anymore.

They just looked at each other. He was so much different now. His eyes were cold, full of hurt. Full of pain and regret. He had a universe inside of him, with only a little bit of light that could not reach him. Why was he here then with her? So much had changed, she had moved on... right? It had been... easily over twenty years since she last saw him. No. It wasn't fair. _This isn't fair! Why now? When I finally have everything I need set up?_

Yet here he was, less than five feet away from him. Why would he be here if he wasn't looking for something? Sex? No, not that. They barely kissed when they were kids, much less do anything beyond that.

"Why... after twenty years... Why are you here now?" she said as her head sunk.

"I'm not here to rekindle what we once had." he said in monotone.

_What?_ Hana glanced up at him. "But?-"

"Sasuke is dead. Someone is manipulating the Akatsuki, which is why I was brought back. Zetsu leads us, but the shadow casted behind him is too great to ignore. Unfortunately, Kisame and myself seem to be the only ones to be fully aware of it." he said as he kept his eyes locked onto hers. He missed her, he really did. Which is why it broke his heart to tell her this. "I'm planning to stop this person. But I'm not going to make it back. I know I won't." he stood up, keeping himself facing down on her. "That's why I came to say... I'm sorry, and good-"

He was unable to finish that word when the Inuzuka grabbed onto him, locking her arms around his back and burying her head into his chest. Itachi could feel his heart beating faster. The feeling he had missed so much. The two people he left behind forever that he only wanted to protect. Where he failed to protect his beloved brother, he was ready to forsake his love for Hana because of his certainty in his mission being suicide.

"Please... don't finish that sentence." she said, voice muffling as her face planted into his chest. Who was she kidding? You can cover up your feelings, but it won't ever get rid of them. And her mother wondered _why_ she could never find a mate. Her mate she marked had been gone for so long, she never attempted to find someone else. How could she? He was... Itachi was... special to her. He was just Itachi. Sure he was a genius in the Uchiha clan, and one of the most gifted former ninjas they had produced, but knowing him personally made him that much more alluring.

But that is also what frightened her. All the rumors, all the stories, she had to know.

"Itachi..." she said, bringing her head back up, their faces merely inches apart. "I want to know everything."

He closed his eyes and nodded his head. "Alright."

**END!**

=P I figured why not on the ItachixHana thing. Who knows, maybe they'll be able to fix things up? What about everyone else? I kind of like the idea of Tenten and Mirai Trunks, but there's no telling how it's gonna happen, if it'll even happen. Blah, blah, blah, it's late and I'm just rambling . Anyway, please review, and I'll see you guys next time!


	5. Chapter 5

And here's 5. Yep, that's all I'm gonna say. =P

P.S – My Latin sucks. Had to use a translator... you'll see what I mean in a second.

Chapter 5

_Jashin damn it._ Thought Hidan as he finally came into view of a temple. "They need another temple, this location is way too fucking far."

Finally coming up to the entrance, he knocked on the large temple door with the metal handle. A moment later, a priest came to the door and opened it, quickly smiling when he realized who it was. An older man with a full head of white hair and a medium complexion about him, dressed in a regular priest outfit. He seemed a peaceful and caring type of person, if you didn't know he served a god who wanted nothing but destruction.

"Hidan! My son, how are you!" said the happy old man.

"Eh, been better. But I'm alright, Father Roshin." he said as the priest allowed him entrance.

"What brings you back after all this time?" he asked as they walked across the courtyard, Hidan exchanging waves to certain members he had not seen for some time. It was good to be back in a place where he was totally welcomed.

"Lost my scythe, as you can see. And my pendant... and I'm seeking reconciliation."

"I see." the priest patted his shoulder. "This way."

Roshin and Hidan made their way to a confessional booth as he sent one of the other clergy members to retrieve another scythe for him. He entered one side while Hidan entered another, and shut the doors so that it could begin. The screen that separated them kept their faces hidden, resembling many other confessional booths of different churches.

"In the name of Lord Jashin I welcome you to reconciliation."

"Ave. Fidelis ut Jashin." replied Hidan, keeping his head down and his hands clasped together.

"Speak your sins, my son, so that I may forgive them." said the priest from the other side of the booth.

"My organization ordered me to capture a person alive. I pray for forgiveness, but now I am set to the path again for the same person." he sighed. "I also died, believe it or not."

"I see." he paused for a moment. _Interesting. How though?_ "You died, you said?"

"Yes, father. A shinobi trapped me and long story short, I was blown to pieces and buried underneath rubble until I finally died from the lack of nutrients. I was brought back just recently."

"Indeed." he replied. "Hidan, we must never forget that the laws of Jashin are always greater than the laws of man. He who is great and just, created us because He loves us. We who have been chosen to follow and see in His truth, are all burdened with the mission to purify the sinful world of mankind. Chaos and death, destruction, it is all done for His name, for the sake of purifying the world of sin. Commonly misunderstood as evil, when it is evil _itself_ we are ridding on this planet, and someday, beyond. Jashin loves you, Hidan, and only wishes you pick up your scythe and resume your mission to help purify the world of evil. He sees no color, nor age or prior religion, only the good deeds of His followers. He is a harsh god, but a loving and forgiving one. Pray for forgiveness, my son, and He will listen. He will hear you."

Hidan sat in silence for a moment before nodding his head, not that the priest could see it. "Thank you, father, I will."

"Is that all you wish to reconcile for?"

"Yeah, yeah that's it."

"Then in the name of our great and almighty Lord Jashin, I cleanse you of your sins and absolve you of all wrong doings committed against our Lord. Invado pacis."

"Laus vobis Lord Jashin." he replied as he stood and exited the confessional.

"Come visit more often! I am always here, and the others do miss you!" said the priest as Hidan made his way away from them.

Hidan just held his hand up in a wave as he made his way back towards the Akatsuki hideout.

**X X X**

"Lady Tsunade?" said Tenten's voice behind the door.

"Hm? Come in."

The kunoichi entered with Trunks right behind her as they separated. Much to Trunks' surprise, the Illusive Man... wasn't there!

"Hello, Tenten. Who is this you have with you?" she asked.

"Oh. This is Trunks."

Trunks respectfully bowed. "I'm looking for my boss, he said he was going to be here... but I think he might have left already since I don't see him here."

Tsunade looked confused. "Beg your pardon, but you're the first person to come into the office at all today. I've done nothing but paperwork so far."

"Wait, what? You mean he never showed up at all? Those two guys at the front gate said that he would be here though..."

She shrugged her shoulders. "Sorry, but I haven't seen him at all. If he made an appointment to hire one of our shinobi he would be on the list of appointments today."

"I see... I'm sorry for any trouble, then." he replied as he turned to make his way to the exit, only to be stopped by the voice of authority.

"Trunks, is it?"

He turned back. "Yes ma'am."

"I can tell you aren't from this village. And if you made it through the front gate, I'm assuming you have visitation papers for me?"

Trunks remembered as he reached into his pocket. "Oh. R-Right, here." he said as he unfolded the papers and handed them to her.

After quickly going over the papers, she tucked them inside her desk and returned her attention to him. "Everything is in order. I apologize for any inconvenience between your boss and you. As a courtesy, we'll allow you to stay the night in a hotel before returning home if you would like. I'll wave the fees for the room."

"Oh no, I couldn't, really." he replied.

"Nonsense, I insist. It must have been quite a trip from..." she quickly flipped through the pages, noticing the words "West City" were crossed out and replaced with Iwagakure. "Iwa, so it's not a problem at all. Please, make yourself at home."

It definitely felt awkward. He had no idea where the Illusive Man was, was basically being forced to stay the night in a village where the supposed nine-tails resided, and he already felt like he made an enemy with that guy and the dog downstairs.

"Well if it's really not that much trouble..."

"Not at all!" she replied. "Tenten, would you mind showing him the address?" she wrote down the address on a piece of paper as she held it out for her to take.

"No problem." she said, taking the note. She quickly skimmed it, glanced back at the Hokage and nodded. "Okay, let's go!" Tenten said as she grabbed Trunks' hand and tugged him out of the office.

Tsunade waited a few moments before finally speaking. "They're gone."

In a puff of smoke, Kiba and Sakura appeared, Akamaru coming out from Tsunade's desk. "Looks like you were right, Kiba." Tsunade added in.

"Yeah. Something about him didn't rub right with me. Especially after I picked up his scent from the same night that I smelt Deidara's. Plus..." Kiba held his right thumb up, glancing at the Hokage. "You notice that ring he was wearing?"

After a moment of thinking, it made sense. Tsunade remembered when Pain came to her on top of the Hokage Mansion, the purple-grayish ring he had around his right thumb. Come to think of it, Trunks _did_ have that exact same colored ring, with the same character on it.

"So he's an Akatsuki." said Sakura. "A new member by the looks of it."

"He may be Pain's replacement, though the wearing of the ring may not mean anything whatsoever. Regardless, I want you two to keep an eye on him tonight... It seems the Akatsuki is trying to gather information on Naruto again. And I wouldn't be surprised if they were trying to go after the Raikage's brother, too."

"Right." they both replied.

"One more thing." said Tsunade. "We have no information on this person. I have the room being wired at the moment to pick up anything he says pertaining to the Akatsuki, Naruto, anything suspicious. If he mentions anything relating to it, you are free to engage. Bring him back, alive if possible."

**X X X**

"..."

That's all Hana could really reply with. What _could_ she say? After hearing everything Itachi told her, all she did was stare at the floor. One dog sat next to Itachi on the left, the other on the right next to Hana, with the third dog sitting at their feet. He may have done unspeakably horrible things, but the dogs always remembered Itachi, and how great he made their master felt when they were younger.

"And that... is everything." he said.

She took the initiative by taking his hands into hers and resting her head on his chest, her hair touching the bottom of his chin. "I was... just starting to get my life together. When I heard you died... I thought I would be happy. You left the village, you left the clan... you left me. It affected me so much to the point where I had to take pills to make myself go to sleep... I just couldn't do it. Instead of feeling anything good... I felt grief."

He said nothing for a moment as he rested his chin on top of her hair. It had been so long since this had happened. He glanced over at the picture of them together. It was taken that day, that afternoon before he ventured on his bittersweet crusade into self-damnation. Indeed, he had done it for his love of his village... and his brother... and her. The Uchiha would have burnt the village to the ground, he knew they would have. His father was one of the strongest in the clan, most of the reason why he faced him last. Just the possible image of fire, collapsing buildings, the entire village. He wouldn't have spared anyone, including her.

_The greater good_ is what he always told himself, and he knew it was the right thing to do. Either way, it was a lose-lose. For had he not done what he had done that night, the Uchiha would have killed everything he loved in the village, and since he did, he left everything behind. His brother grew to hate him, and devote his life to revenge... only to find out he had lost his way. Rather than return home to his village as a hero... he turned to the life of a renegade.

"There was no way that I could have avoided a bad outcome." he said. "But in the end... it was for the greater good. At the very least, I can say," he took his hand out from one of hers and tilted her head up to face him, their eyes inches apart. "At the very least, I can say I saved you."

She gave a small frown. "You always... think about everyone else. You never take the time to think for yourself... even in a situation like this."

A rarely seen smile now ran across the Uchiha's face. "That's not true... I did come back to see you because I wanted to."

"Itachi. Wait." she stood up, letting go of his hands and getting some distance from her bed. "I don't know if- I mean I can't- We can't- Is this even right?" she turned her back to him, facing out the window of her room with her arms crossed. "For God's sake... You were dead. You were dead for over thirteen years... I moved on. I had to." tears rolled down her face. She didn't move on, it was impossible. Once she realized she wanted Itachi to be her mate, she couldn't break that bond, not ever, even in death. "This... isn't fair... Now?... Now you come back?"

She tensed up as Itachi laid his hands on her shoulders, standing directly behind her. "I'm sorry. I think now that I've told you everything... you understand my words are sincere."

Silence.

Moments later, he picked up the conversation. He had a feeling now was the best time to leave her alone to collect her thoughts. He felt he already overdid it. "I see. I'll leave then-"

She had quickly turned around and grabbed onto him, pulling him into a tight embrace, much to his surprise. Her head buried through his Akatsuki robe and onto his chest while her hands gripped his shirt.

"I just... want to know one thing." she said.

"Anything." he softly replied, taking his hand and running his fingers down a loose lock of hair.

"Did you come back... just to say goodbye? I mean... really say goodbye? Or... is there something else?"

"You... said it yourself. That you had moved on, you had to. I cannot come in between it... nor will I try."

"Damn it! Why do you have to be so fucking cryptic!" she shoved herself off of him and stared into his eyes. "Can't you see what I'm trying to say? Do I have to spell it out for you? I didn't move on! I _couldn't_ move on! Why? Because I'm fucking in love with you, Itachi! And it broke my heart when I found out what you did, but NOTHING compared to the pain I felt when I found out you had died! And now... here you are, right in front of me." she couldn't hold back the tears as they rushed down her face, constant and showing little sign of stopping as her voice cracked and broke with usage of speech. "Do you know how hard it's been? Living like this?"

He lost himself within her eyes. She meant well, but she hurt so much. She was just like the girl he used to know, though much older. He found some humor in knowing his time being dead kept him at his youthful age of twenty-one, where as Hana was clearly in her thirties now, but it made no difference to him. He knew... it was still there.

He reached for her hands and gently held them. "I want nothing more than to put this all behind me. But there is still one more thing I need to do."

She nodded. "Madara."

"Yes... and something even bigger than him." he lowered his forehead, his metal band was cold to the touch of her bare skin, but she welcomed it as their faces were closer than they ever had been. "I know that with you... I will have something to fight for. Something... to come back to."

She shook her head. "You have to promise me, Itachi."

"What do you want me to promise you?"

"You already died once... and I grieved, and mourned for over a dozen years in secret. I can't do it again, I don't think my heart can take it." she let go of his hands and reached them to hold his cheeks. "If we want to try this... really, really want to try this... you have to promise me _not_ to die. Not until we grow old, and not unless it's together. You have to promise me that you'll come back."

**X X X**

"You seem in a rather cheerful mood." Kisame stated as he and his partner walked away from the village they had stopped in. "I take it she was happy to see you."

Itachi did not hide his smile as he nodded. "It was good to see her again."

"Good to know. Maybe it will make this odd crusade of ours worth fighting for." he sighed as he inhaled the night air. "Something to come home to."

Meanwhile on the balcony of her upstairs room, Hana stared out into the forest where Itachi had jumped to and left through. In her hands she held a small picture, a black and white photo of a little boy and a little girl with their hands held. Only the hands were shown, on it, was freshly drying ink that read, _Forever._ She smiled as she watched the night sky, not at all concerned at what her mother would think when she picked up his scent, or rather if and when he came back, the trials he would have to endure. There would be a time for that, and it wasn't now. Now... she would wait for his return.

"Yes, Kisame." he replied. "Something we can all look forward to."

**X X X**

"Ughk!"

Shikamaru knelt frozen, in exhaustion and in terror as Hidan looked down at him, his outside appearance completely black, a white outline giving him his skeletal like look. He glanced around quickly, noting he was the only one alive.

_N-No... Temari... Aki..._

"Aaaaaaahahahaha! Doesn't it feel great?" Hidan said as he lowered his scythe down to Shikamaru's cheek, slowly slitting across the skin and drawing blood. "The last lamb, in my great crusade for Lord Jashin." he said as he laid his tongue across the middle blade, letting the blood trickle down his throat as his sensation overtook him, linking the two together.

Shikamaru tried to back up, tried to use his jutsu, but he couldn't. His chakra was completely drained, it was deep into the night, and the clouds covered the light of the moon. He was completely at his mercy. With a psychotic grin and chuckle, Hidan pulled his staff from his sleeve and raised it above his heart, ready to stab it.

"Now, now. Looks like _I_ will be the one bringing down vengeance this time around." he slammed the blade into his heart. "THY WILL BE DONE!"

**X X X**

"NO!" he screamed as he shot up in his bed in a cold sweat. His hair stuck to him as he felt a large weight cling around his shoulder and to his stomach. He gave a slight struggle to the grip before finally calming down at the realization of his wife's soothing voice.

"Shikamaru, it's okay. It's me, I'm here." she said as she held him. "It was just a dream."

The door opened a moment later, and in barged their daughter, just as worried as her mother was.

"Dad! Are you okay?"

"He's fine, Aki. Just a bad dream." she said as she rubbed his back. "Go back to bed, sweetheart."

"What? Mom!-"

"It's okay, Aki." Shikamaru finally spoke up. "Listen to your mother. I'm fine, really." he said as he turned to her with a smirk on his face. "Dreams can't hurt me, so don't worry."

She huffed as she rolled her eyes, but ultimately listened as she closed the door and walked back to her room.

"Was it the same thing?" Temari asked.

"Yeah... yeah, it was."

She sighed. "Do you really think he's alive, Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru kept flashing back to that dream. Every night, it felt so real. His wife and daughter laid dead not far from him, his wounds felt real, his pain... his death, it felt real. Hidan... he felt, smelt, and looked real.

"As much as I'd like to sit here and hope that he isn't... or that this is just a strange coincidence, I can't. When I went with Kiba to check out the site, I could feel it in my bones, Temari. He's still out there. And if that murder at the morgue was really Kakuzu, and that person who was outside the gates was Deidara-"

"We'll be ready." she said, a smile crossing her face as they stared at each other. She finally leaned her face into his and gently kissed his lips as she pulled away and faced him again. "I know we will."

**X X X**

Nothing to do tonight, as usual for the youngest child of Sakura and Kiba. She missed going on missions for the simple fact that when she was home and no one else was, she normally just sat at home bored. Her brother was out for the night too with some friends, leaving the house completely to herself.

She sighed as she stared up at the ceiling in her room. A strand of hair tickled her forehead, but was quickly removed by her hand, lazily falling down as her finger touched something. She glanced over to see the small sculpture of her fallen partner that was made for her. The mysterious man who she found in the forest named Deidara. Their _enemy_ supposedly.

But he didn't _feel_ like an enemy. In fact, he felt like one of the closest things to a friend she had, simply because he _knew_ how it felt. The staring, the judging, the pointing of fingers... the laughing. Sure she barely knew anything about him, but they had a similar history, she just knew they did.

"No point staying at home being bored all night... Think I'll go for a walk." she said to herself as she picked up her jacket she inherited from her father and put it on, heading downstairs. She kept the jacket unzipped, exposing her mesh shirt, and tucked her hands into the pockets as she exited the door and locked it behind her.

The streets were quiet. Distant chattering could be heard, but most people were either at home or deeper in the village at the bars or restaurants. It was nice that they lived towards the outer-center of the village. Not too close to the noise to keep it quiet, but not too far whenever the need to go into town was. Usually it was when they had to grocery shop, which was fairly often, considering how much her brother and father ate. She even remembered the other day when they went...

(Flashback)

"Aw come on, Mom, this is soooo boring!" pouted the first born.

The Inuzuka family of four, plus two faithful companions made their way around the grocery store for the third time this week. Sakura led the way, with Kiyosato and Kiba close behind, their heads sunk at the dislike for doing something so measly. Salayna was behind them with her hands in the pockets of her jacket, glancing around without any sort of problem. She was used to it, even though her father and brother weren't.

Sakura spun around. "Look, Kiyosato! I'm tired of coming here all the time by myself to shop for two weeks worth of groceries only for them to be gone in over the span of a day! Maybe when I drag you and your father out, your _father_" she quickly glanced at Kiba who replied by giving a big stupid grin with his hand scratching the back of his head. "Who I would have thought may have learned his lesson by now. But nope! Between the two of you, I'm surprised you haven't taken a bite out of the furniture yet!"

_Man, we did the same thing when he was just born, didn't we? No wonder this feel so familiar._ Kiba thought. "Alright, alright. What's first on the list?"

Sakura pulled a folded piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to Kiba. "Here."

Kiba looked at the paper like it was a foreign object. "Here?" he glanced back up at her. "What are you talking about?"

"It's the list! The list that _you're_ going to follow!"

"W-Wait! You mean I have to?-"

Sakura nodded her head with her hands on her hips. "I don't like doing this by myself, but I do it anyway. At least Salayna and Kiyosato are here to help you." she then walked past them towards the door. "See ya!"

"Mom! No! Dad sucks at shopping!" Kiyosato cried to his mother, but she only responded by waving back. "Come on, Mom! April Fools?" He thought for a moment. "Damn it, it's July! Come on, Mom, don't leave, we need you!"

(End Flashback)

A big smile ran across her face. It was definitely a fun experience. Their father was a great fighter, but shopping definitely wasn't his thing. It definitely showed when they came home with mostly meat and rice with no vegetables, and cereal without buying milk. Simple things like that were somewhat annoying, but it was fun to think back on it. She really did love her family, and it seemed her parents had always been doing stuff like that, even before they had her and her brother.

"**HOW DO YOU BUY EIGHT BAGS OF CEREAL WITHOUT BUYING ANY MILK?**" was something she'll always remember her mother shouting at the two men. She felt bad that she found humor in it, but it really was amusing when she got angry for the simple fact that her father or brother, or both, would slip up on some of the simplest things.

Finally she came to stop at a small wooden bridge, arched over. She glanced up at the sky, the moon was full tonight and not a cloud in the sky. On the other side of the bridge was a park were some other kids around her age or older were enjoying the evening, in a large group or with one other person.

"I wonder... what he's doing right now."

**X X X**

Deidara yawned as he and Tobi made their way through the Land of Fire on yet _another_ search mission, this time for Trunks.

"We didn't even get a chance to lay back. Zetsu could at least handle some stuff himself, yeah." said Deidara.

"But senpai, we can't just leave Trunks-senpai in there with all those Konoha shinobi."

"I thought you said _you_ were going to be his senpai?" he replied while furrowing his eyebrows.

"Oh, well I uh..."

"Nevermind. Let's just get in and find him. Zetsu said he should be pretty easy to find. Something about the Hokage giving him a place to stay... weird."

"Maybe it's a trap!" Tobi said before frantically running in front of Deidara and stopping him. "! Senpai! We gotta save Trunks-senpai from the trap!"

"Calm down, Tobi. Trunks isn't exactly a pushover. He _is_ a fellow artist like myself, after all, yeah."

"Huh?" Tobi looked confused as he took back to his partner's side.

"You saw it when Tokaku attacked us, didn't you? It was _pure_ art, yeah!"

"Gee, I don't know, senpai. It just looked like another explosion to me."

"Art _is_ an explosion." he smugly replied as they made their way closer to Konoha. "But that's besides the point. I have a plan."

"Yes! I love your plans, senpai!" he paused for a moment. "I'd love them even more if they actually worked!"

Deidara stopped and glared at Tobi. Much as he'd like to blast him sky-high again, they were getting close enough to where any sort of noises like that would draw attention from ANBU. Best thing to do was just listen and...

_**POW**_

... deliver a simpler punishment.

"B-But senpai!" Tobi said, rubbing a large welt on his head delivered by Deidara. "I have a good plan! It will work, I promise!"

He sighed. As much as Tobi blabbered about that kind of stuff, he did have a point; his plans didn't work that well in the past. The least he could do is listen to what he has to say.

"Okay, fine. What exactly is your plan?"

"Wuh-ho ho! You're actually gonna let me? Alright, that's my favorite senpai!" he grabbed Deidara and pulled him into a huddle position. "Okay, senpai, this is the plan..."

**X X X**

"Okay, we should be set up here." said Kiba. Him Akamaru and Sakura laid flat over an arched rooftop, peering into the window where the expected room was. The couple had a pair of binoculars they were each peering through, waiting to see when he would show up, whereas Akamaru just laid there bored.

"If the room is correct, he shouldn't be able to see us unless he looks directly down." said Akamaru.

"But that's also the problem; all he has to _do_ is look down, and we'd be right there." replied Sakura. "But I guess this is the best we got, so we'll have to work with it."

They laid there in silence for a few more moments before Kiba decided to break it. "You lock the door?"

"Salayna's at the house. She said she had it."

"Just her?" he replied.

"Mm-hmm. Kiyosato's out with Shinta and Natsuko, so she told me."

"I'm surprised he didn't try and go after Aki again."

"Shikamaru daughter?"

"Yeah." he took his eyes off the binoculars and looked at her. "You didn't know that? Our son's got it pretty bad to tell you the truth." he chuckled.

She giggled. "Aw, I wonder why he never brought it up to me?"

"Well, he didn't bring it up to me, either. I picked up the smell off him."

"That's like cheating, you know."

"What? No way!" he playfully pushed her shoulder. "It's just obvious, to me and Akamaru anyway. His sister can probably smell it on him, too, just like we can smell it on her."

That took her by surprise. "Wait. Smell what on her?"

"Affection, just like Kiyosato is for Aki." he said, returning his eyes to the binoculars.

"What? Kiba that's not fair, you need to tell me this when you find out!" she pouted as she took the binoculars from her face and rested her chin on them.

"It's pretty new, don't worry. I'll handle Kiyosato, I think Salayna's more comfortable with you anyway."

"You could always do something about that, you know..." she replied.

Kiba shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know what more I can do. When Kaitamaru died she just couldn't really face me the same afterwards."

"You haven't thought about talking to her about it?" she took her hand and rubbed his back. "Your daughter needs you just as much as your son does."

He smiled, ungluing his eyes from the device and smiling at his wife. "Yeah, you're right."

She smiled back as she leaned in and kissed him. "Of course I'm right."

He rolled his eyes and returned his attention to their stakeout. _Women. Especially this one..._

"Kiba." said Akamaru.

"Yeah, I smell it too."

"Is he here?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, Tenten's still with him." Kiba replied.

**X X X**

"Wow." Trunks said as he examined the room he and Tenten stepped into. "Did I get the uh... upgrade, or something?"

It was definitely not a typical room by any means. Two King-sized beds, a door leading to a marble decorated bathroom, and a full-size kitchen right to his left. It was a nice sight, but Trunks couldn't help but feel a bit weird about all of this. Why so much hospitality? He wouldn't have complained if he had the basic room, but this? This was a bit... much.

"She just feels bad for you. I'd be pretty upset with my boss if I was you." the kunoichi replied as she plopped on the bed and faced him. "So? What do you think of Konoha?"

"Well I..." he scratched the back of his head. Rather than heading back to the hotel right away, Tenten took the liberty of showing him around the entire village. She was nice, pretty energetic, and she had a funny habit of always ogling over weapons of any kind. What's more is that she's actually _better_ at swordsmanship than Trunks was, much to his embarrassment.

"A lot of shops and attractions are closed since it was pretty late. Maybe we can go tomorrow before you head back to Iwa."

He gave a small blush over his cheeks. "Sure, that'd be fine."

He walked past her and sat on the bed facing the large sliding window and glanced out. It was a nice night, a few clouds scattered across the sky of the full moon with a small breeze as the few taller trees he noticed gave a sway.

Knowing Trunks had his back to her, she quickly took out the note Tsunade handed her and read it over again. Below the address was an important order.

_Be on guard. We have reason to believe Trunks is an Akatsuki. Kiba and Sakura gave me the information before you arrived. The room you are in is being wired to record any conversation. Keep an eye on him, Kiba and Sakura are watching from a distance, so you should be safe if something goes wrong. Try and get any information you can out of him, but don't lose him._

She folded the note back up and tucked it away in her pocket as she stood up and made her way to the bed Trunks was sitting at, taking a seat next to him. _He doesn't seem that bad, though. He's shy, but he's kind of sweet. Still, I really need to pay attention. Can't get distracted._

"You okay?"

He tensed for a moment, forgetting he wasn't alone in the room. He glanced over at her with a blank look on his face. "Yeah I'm alright. Just thinking."

"What are you thinking about?"

"Home." he said softly. He really missed it, despite it still being reconstructed. Recovering after the androids and Cell took the remaining citizens to ban together and try to refit the pieces. In spit of that, there was finally peace, he just wishes he could be there to actually enjoy it. Here... he knew something was wrong, on both sides.

"Been a while since you've seen Iwa, huh?"

Trunks sighed. "Yeah, I guess you could say that." he stretched his arms, yawning while doing so. "The Hokage was nice, giving me this big room, even though it's just for the night."

_Hm. I should probably try and soften him up before I ask something... Then again I can't be too forward or he'll figure something out and it'll be over._ she thought as she took her hand and placed it on his leg. "So I hardly know anything about you except the basics. Why don't you tell me about yourself?"

His face gave a light shade of pink as he noticed where her hand was. "Umm... sure. I guess, uh, what do you want to know about me?"

"Well when you showed me your visitation papers you had another city crossed out." she glanced over at him till he was looking at her. "Are you actually from Iwagakure?" she smiled. "Don't worry, I'm not mad. I just figured maybe it was where you were born and you moved later."

He gave a slight tense at first but he eased himself as she explained. Then again, he figured at this point lying was going to be hard. She was nice to him, even if it was just basic hospitality, it means a lot to a lost man when someone is willing to lend a helping hand. But he knew the Illusive Man was right, and that stopping the tailed beasts was the top priority. The sooner he did that, the sooner he could go home. Then again, could he trust him? He told him they would both be meeting here, yet nothing happened. What was he playing at?

Finally sighing in defeat, he started. "Okay, _that_ I don't mind answering." he ran a hand through his hair. "I'm from a place called West City. It's... kind of banged up right now."

"What happened to it?"

He chuckled as he set his hand down from his head. "Tenten... I'm not from this time."

_Okay, wait, what?_ the kunoichi thought in surprise. "I'm not sure I get what you mean." she stated, trying to not sound too surprised by what he said.

"It's pretty straightforward. I'm from the-"

_**Knock Knock!**_

"Who's that?" Tenten asked, standing up quickly, too quickly as she twisted her ankle and fell back on the bed, wincing in pain as she held onto it.

"Ugh! Great, just what I needed to go and do!"

Trunks took her sandal off and looked at her ankle. It was already starting to swell, so he picked her up slowly and carried her to the bathroom. When he opened the door, he sat her down on the toilet and propped her foot up on a small stool next to it.

"Hold on, I'll go get some ice." he said as he quickly walked to the kitchen.

Using the brief moment to herself, she tapped her ear. "Kiba, Sakura, you guys there?"

The radio came to life as a response was heard. "It's Sakura, you okay?"

"I'm alright, kind of messed up my ankle."

"Yeah we saw, good stuff!"

"Oh can it, Kiba." she replied. "I don't know a lot yet, but I'd get ready just in case. Gotta go."

Trunks entered the room with a plastic bag filled with square ice cubes, covered by a paper towel. "Just keep this on. I gotta see who's at the door."

She smiled back. "Okay."

Trunks closed the door to the bathroom and walked up to the door. When he glanced through the peephole, he noticed a man standing there with a cart of food in front of him. He was dressed up like a worker, but something was different about him.

_That mask... Hey wait, I know who that is!_ Trunks thought as he opened the door and...

"DOMOOOOOOOOO!" yelled Tobi with his hand raised high.

Trunks quickly clamped his hand around where Tobi's mouth was suppose to be, instead holding his mask. "Tobi? What the hell are you doing here? Keep it down, man!" he said as he let go.

Tobi entered the room with the cart in front of him, accidentally bumping the cart onto the bed as an annoyed grunt could be heard from underneath the sheet covering it.

"Hey Tobi, is that... ?"

Tobi clapped his hands together. "Ah yes! Tonight's main course!" he reached for the sheet and ripped it off to find a crammed Deidara squeezed underneath the cart.

"Senpai a-la-carte!"

"Tobi, I swear to god I'm gonna kill you when we get home."

Deidara finally climbed his way out of the cart and stood up, rubbing the back of his neck. "Here we are, impersonating staff workers and cramming ourselves into carts and you're here relaxing in a five-star hotel."

Trunks awkwardly chuckled. "Well it's not what it looks like, you see I-"

On the other side of the wall, Tenten could hear the conversation commencing between Trunks and the others. No mistaking it now, after hearing the names Deidara and Tobi, she knew it was Akatsuki affiliated.

_Crap! I can't move... damn ankle._ she tapped her ear to radio in. "Guys, you _gotta_ get in here. Deidara and Tobi are literally on the other side of the wall from me."

Silence.

"Kiba? Sakura?... Akamaru?"

_**Crash!**_

In the living room of the hotel, the window crashed into hundreds of pieces as Kiba, Akamaru, and Sakura landed in, eyes fixed on the three as they stood up in a readied position to fight.

"What a mess!" Tobi said. "All that glass, I mean really! It's everywhere!"

"It's that same guy we met when we were looking for Itachi." Kiba said. "We couldn't even touch that goofball."

Trunks glanced around. There wasn't any room to fight, not that he was worried. After sensing their powers, he felt at ease knowing he was quite a bit stronger than the both of them. Still, he felt that way every time something like that happened where he was either fighting or going to fight. His power felt cut, like this time put a heavy hold on his full abilities.

"You're those two from earlier." he stated.

"Glad your eyes work, pal." Kiba said. "I'm grateful the three of you are all here, saves me the trouble of having to look for you." he gripped his fist together. "I should have grabbed you when I had the chance."

"Heh. Like that would have happened." Trunks smirked.

"Well, hello." Deidara glanced at Sakura. "If it isn't the girl who beat my man Sasori. You'll have to excuse us, my man Trunks and I along with Tobi were just leaving."

"Like hell." Kiba snapped. "We're taking you guys in, especially you, new guy." he finished, pulling out a kunai.

"The bad guys taking in the good guys. Typical." he replied.

"Bad guys?" Sakura replied. "_You're_ the bad guys! Coming back to try and take Naruto away for your own sick and twisted ways!"

Kiba finally lunged forward. "We're stopping this, right now!" Sakura quickly followed behind him, Akamaru doing the same as he transformed into a clone of his master.

"Oh man, they're tracking glass all OVER the place!" cried Tobi.

"Shut up, Tobi! Here they come!" said Deidara as he readied himself.

Trunks smirked, not even moving at all. Deidara glanced over at him. _What's he doing?_

Kiba brought his kunai down, only to find himself in a look of shock as Trunks not only stopped the blade, but he did so only using his finger. Trunks kept his eyes fixed on Kiba's as Sakura charged her fist up and rammed it towards Trunks, who easily caught the punch with his other hand and held it like it was nothing. Akamaru was able to land a successful kick into Trunks' face, but it had absolutely no effect on him.

_What the hell?_ Kiba thought. _How did he stop that? With his finger? _he glanced over at Sakura's fist which made absolutely no damage registration. _And Sakura's punch... that normally sends people flying, especially with THAT much chakra she put in! Not to mention Akamaru's kick was dead on! What the hell is with this guy?_

"You guys... aren't very strong." Trunks said.

"And you three aren't very smart."

Trunks tried to turn around, but he couldn't. He was stuck? _What the? I can't... move._

Glancing down he could see his shadow was being dragged out into another direction. The look of relief on the faces of the other shinobi was a sign that a friend had arrived from behind them.

"Shikamaru!" Sakura happily cheered.

"The Hokage sent word something big was going down. Glad I showed up just in time." he said as he glanced at Deidara from the entrance of the doorway. "Looks like the rumors are true, you _are_ alive."

"Tch." Deidara spat. "I knew the room service thing was a bad idea, Tobi, yeah."

"Gee you guys, things look pretty bad, huh?" said Tobi.

"I'm not sure who you are or what your goal is with the Akatsuki," Shikamaru said to Trunks. "But if it's Naruto you're after, I'm afraid we're not going to let that happen."

"What are you talking about? _You_ guys are the one keeping a weapon of mass destruction in your village ready to wipe out life in an instant!" he grunted, the grip Shikamaru had on him was too tight and sudden for him to power up and break free. "You actually think keeping a bomb ready to go off is safer than getting rid of it? That's not peace! That's just a cold war with the rest of the world, even those of your own village!"

_What the hell? Was this guy born yesterday? Or did the Akatsuki do some kind of indoctrination on him?_ Shikamaru thought. "Did you hit your head or something? Don't act like sealing away and killing the jinchuriki is a good thing! That kind of power is worse than any kind of bomb you're thinking of!"

"Trunks, Tobi! Get down!" said Deidara. As soon as they looked at him, the bomber spat a clay spider from his mouth towards the ceiling light, making contact. "Sorry friends, but this is goodbye for now."

He furrowed his eyebrows together as he activated his ability.

"Katsu!"

The smart planning ahead definitely helped. He had a bit of clay in his hands, but he took a little bit and kept it in his mouth in case he was unable to do so. When the light broke, the shadows blended in with the darkness, losing their grip and freeing the three from its hold.

Immediately Deidara bolted for the window, pushing Trunks to do the same with Tobi frantically screaming and running behind them. He jumped out the window, tossing one of his creations down before activating his ability and bringing a large bird to life, catching the three on top of it.

"Let's get out of here." he said. "It's way too hot right now, yeah."

The bird finally rose up to the window, Kiba and the others watching them in annoyance at their attempt to flee the scene.

Deidara stood at the head of the bird, turned around facing them. "So sorry to leave you all like this. We'll have to do this again _real_ soon, yeah."

"Buh-bye!" waved Tobi as the bird flew away.

Finally rejoining her teammates, Tenten limped to the side of Sakura as she watched the giant bird gain distance from them. From the moment she could see him, her and Trunks were fixed on each other, until they were too far away to keep their eyes fixed on the other. They both knew the next time they saw each other, it wouldn't be friendly.

"Like hell you're getting away!" Kiba shouted as he jumped out the window towards a rooftop, giving chase.

"Right." she said. "You go with him, Shikamaru, he's going to need your help."

"Ah man, I knew this whole thing was going to be a real drag, you know that?" he rolled his eyes as he followed after Kiba.

**END!**

And the quick little fight scene ends it. So it looks like Tobi's little plan didn't really work, but we gotta give him credit for trying, right? For those of you who might be confused, The Illusive Man has sort of an influence over his thoughts on jinchurikis right now. Not so much a dominating control over his mind, just a heavy hand in his decision making. So his expressions about it and any actions taken towards them in the future?... Yeah that's all Illusive Man pulling the strings. Keep that in mind, cause it'll really show in the later chapters! Anywayyyyys, there it is. Next chapter, I'm brining in something nice, you'll see what I mean towards... about the end of the chapter. Please review, and I'll see you next time!


	6. Chapter 6

And here be #6. I think you'll like the surprise I tossed in at the end. Enjoy!

Chapter 6

"Whew. Talk about your close encounters." said Deidara as they got closer to the main gate of the village.

"No kidding." Trunks replied.

"Man, Trunks-senpai, you sure showed them earlier, huh?" asked Tobi.

"Hey! Who got us out of there?" asked an annoyed Deidara. "That pink-haired girl does have a pretty nasty punch. You blocking that was pretty cool, yeah."

"It really wasn't that strong..." he said. That other guy though, what was his name? Shikamaru? His words still ran through his head. "**Did you hit your head or something? Don't act like sealing away and killing the jinchuriki is a good thing! That kind of power is worse than any kind of bomb you're thinking of!**" _Killing? Does sealing the beast away kill the host?_

"Not for a fellow artist like yourself, yeah." he smirked.

"Artist?" he thought out loud.

"You remember our fight with Tokaku and his hunter-nin? That blast... that explosion, it was art. True, real art, yeah!"

_I guess?_ Trunks thought to himself. "Oh, heh, thanks."

**X X X**

"**You are putting too much pressure on Sasori. Stop.** _Yeah, come on, give the guy a break._"

The Illusive Man rubbed his temples. "I'm not forcing Sasori to do anything at this point. I simply presented my proposition and showed him what he could gain from it."

"_Yeah, he hasn't stopped working since he came back. He's a real hard worker isn't he?_ **How is he doing this from the ground up?**"

"Kabuto's blood sample. I preserved it once Madara handed it over to me, that way it was fresh even after the years of waiting."

"**That blood sample only grants abilities, it can't bring someone back to life. You understand this, do you not?**"

"Naturally. No, rather, I'm only using the blood catalyst to freely reinstate life within the individual. Firstly, Sasori is extracting any unnecessary chromosomes from the serum before beginning the real one, so he told me. The diversity of the Haruno girl's blood is extraordinary, but it is only half of what I need, and that is where Sasori comes in."

"_What's he doing?_"

"He's working on a Reanimation Jutsu sub-type. Something that grants the same ability without the drawback of harm to the caster. Even more so, we're not even trying to find a jutsu itself, but rather a simple medical process. Something we can use on a person to completely bring them back to life, without the use of chakra or life force. Completely devoid of any repercussions."

"_That's cool!_ **How long is this going to take? We still need to find the last two jinchuriki.**"

"You'll have to check with Sasori himself, though he seems... driven."

"**The Hokage and the Raikage will not let this go easily. We'll need a plan, they've beaten us before, and most of their shinobi have gotten stronger.**"

The Illusive Man smirked as he stood up, lightning a cigarette and inhaling the smoke before releasing it. His eyes glowed a bright steely-blue, much to the irritation of Zetsu's eyes. "Leave that to me."

**X X X**

Shikamaru quickly bolted to keep up with Kiba as they were nearing the edge of the village. Deidara along with Tobi and this new guy they called Trunks were moving too quick for him to get any real gain on them. Kiba on the other hand, was fairly determined.

_This plan got tossed together real quick. At the very least, I hope we can get one of them. _he thought as he jumped on the last roof before jumping higher up to the gate of the village, jumping over it and began hopping through trees.

_I gotta get these guys._ Kiba thought. _I know that kunai hit him. How did he just block it though? And with just his finger? That's impossible... I need to step it up when I catch up._

In that instant, an enormous black wall shot up in front of Deidara's bird, halting the three from flight as they braked. It was tall, wide, and... buzzing?

_Alright, looks like it's working._ Shikamaru thought as he saw the tall structure looming over the forest.

Down below, Shino kept his arms raised as his insect flooded from his arms to reinforced the wall he had made to halt the fleeing Akatsuki.

"Hinata." he said, glancing up. "Is it them?"

"Um." Hinata said, quickly activating her Byakugan as she examined the three bodies halted before the wall, on top of the large clay bird. "Yes. The same chakra... but one of them is different."

"Huh? Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yes... it's... I'm not even sure if it's chakra, dear." she said as she gazed into it. It was... different. Strong, scary strong, and a lot of it.

"I see." he said, turning his head to the side. "Naruto, Ino."

"Ready." Ino said.

"Let's do it!" added on Naruto.

The two blondes bolted far down the forest until they were right behind the wall of insects. They nodded at each other as Ino grabbed Naruto's hands and held them together. Her strength wasn't as great as Sakura's was, but she learned fairly quickly and they weren't far enough to where she might miss or have to strain herself. She quickly spun around, and around, and around.

"Here... You... GO!" she yelled as she let him go, stumbling a bit from her dizziness as Naruto shot up like a bullet towards the wall.

Taking the last step into action, Naruto pulled his palm out as he focused his chakra together until a quick and large Rasengan was spinning in his right hand.

"Shino!"

"Got you."

With one flick of his finger, Shino opened a hole large enough for Naruto to shoot through, taking the three Akatsuki completely off guard as he shot straight towards them.

"Damn it!" said Deidara. "Not you!"

By instinct, Trunks pushed Deidara down, Tobi was out of range, so Trunks simply took a stance as Naruto flew closer to them at a rather impressive speed.

"RASENGAN!"

Trunks caught Naruto's wrist with his left, the rotating ball of chakra merely inches away from his face, blowing his long hair in several directions as they locked each other in a hard stare.

_This attack... Is this an older version of the Kamehameha? I've never seen such concentration of energy before in such a small attack. He's definitely stronger than he looks._

"Trunks, behind you!" said Deidara as he pointed.

Trunks quickly turned and looked up to see Kiba high above them with his arms crossed in an X shape fashion.

"We're stopping this, right now!" he called to them. "Third Gate: Release!"

Tossing his arms to his sides, Kiba's hair flew up in a violent storm that was being released only in his body as his skin quickly reddened.

"What? His power just went through the roof!" Trunks said, still holding Naruto's wrist.

With no time to react, Kiba quickly dove into Trunks' face with his fist, knocking him off of the clay bird along with Naruto as they all fell to the forest below them.

Kiba and Naruto landed on their feet, quickly looking around, wondering where Trunks was.

"You see him?" Kiba asked as his hair and skin color returned to normal.

"No! Agh, we had him!"

"You sure about that?"

Naruto and Kiba quickly turned around to see Trunks standing with his arms crossed, his hair dancing with the wind.

"Who are you!" demanded Naruto.

"My name's Trunks. Oh, and whoever has the dog, tell him to come out or attack me already, I could sense his energy miles away."

Kiba growled as he clenched his fist. How did this guy know where Akamaru was? Did he have a heightened sense of smell like he did? It didn't seem like it, he would have known more than likely. Yet when Kiba smelt him, there was nothing, _nothing_ pertaining to fear, nervousness, anxiety, anything. It was almost as if... he _wanted_ them to attack him.

"Naruto." Kiba said quietly to him. "There's something really wrong about this guy. He's not scared at all, and earlier he caught Sakura's punch like it was a bouncy ball."

"What? Are you sure she was trying?"

He nodded. "Trust me, after being married for thirteen years, I don't even need to ask. I can smell it on her, and she was giving that guy everything she had."

Akamaru finally emerged from the bush behind Naruto and Kiba and took to his master's side.

"I wanted to avoid crossing paths with him. I'm sorry I had you worried." said Akamaru.

"It's okay." Kiba replied, still glaring at Trunks who wasn't at all worried about Shino, Hinata, Ino, and Shikamaru jumping down from behind him.

"!" Hinata gasped as she examined his chakra. It had since become more exposed. It was strong, surging, and constant. _We can't beat him... Even if we all... He's so much stronger than all of us!_

"Alright, that does it!" said Naruto as he brought his index and middle finger on both hands together to make a cross. "Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Immediately the entire opened forest area filled up with copies of Naruto. Easily over a hundred, all jumping down and rushing towards Trunks, several drawing kunais while others threw shurikens or readied for a punch.

His expression never changed once as the first of the clones raised his kunai and slammed it down, only to come into contact with the grass as all the other clones looked up to see Trunks flying up several feet, finally stopping a few feet above the forest.

"He can... fly?" Shikamaru thought out loud.

"Ah man, not good." said Kiba.

The clones simply yelled as they jumped up towards the Saiyan, unaware of what he was about to do.

Exceeding an incredible amount of speed, Trunks took his arms out and began moving them around... quickly. The shinobi from below watched as it seemed Trunks was performing some insanely long and fast hand sign, until he finally stopped with his hands opened, the space in between the connection of his index finger and thumb the concentration of the energy.

"Burning..." he said loudly.

"Everyone move! Now!" yelled Hinata.

"ATTACK!" finished Trunks. The second the sound of the K left his mouth, an intense amount of energy shot from his hands and towards the clones, immediately vaporizing them and the remaining clones before any of them could register what was happening.

Like Hinata ordered before the attack commenced, the shinobi below jumped a good distance from the spot as the blast landed on the ground, completely tearing the ground apart, blowing several trees out of the ground and knocking others over. The violent wind shot rocks, twigs, and leaves in every direction at such a speed they could cause an annoying amount of pain if they came into contact with someone standing.

"You done messing around?"

Trunks turned to the side to see Deidara and Tobi on top of the bird. He nodded his head and floated over to it, taking a seat, his forehead dripping with sweat as he heaved for air.

"Gee, Trunks, you don't look that great." said Tobi.

_I'm exhausted. Why did that attack take so much out of me? I know I wasn't going all out, I wasn't trying to kill them._

"Yeah, he's right. What's up with you?" Deidara asked.

Trunks started breathing heavily from exhaustion, completely unsure of why he was like this. "I have... no idea. That attack wasn't that powerful, I've used it before and been fine. But for some reason now, it's completely taken a lot out of me."

Tobi and Deidara looked at each other, shrugging their shoulders in unison.

_This is weird. I need to find out what's going on with me. But first things first, I need to pay the Illusive Man a visit and find out what his deal is._

**X X X**

"Everyone okay?" asked Kiba.

Coughs and grunts were heard across the smokescreen produced by the energy blast shot by Trunks, but he could still smell everyone was there with him. Akamaru stood up, shaking himself to get as much dust off as possible.

He noticed Naruto wasn't next to him and walked to the other side where everyone else was, only to trip and almost fall into a large hole produced by Trunks' attack. It was only a few minutes later when the smoke had cleared that the "hole" in the ground was actually an eight by eight foot crater, several feet deep into the ground. Everyone was standing on the other side, in equal surprise and shock.

"He did that with just one blast?" Kiba thought out loud.

"That didn't look like chakra. Something about his attack was different." said Shino.

"Maybe he's a lightning user?" Ino suggested.

"No." said Naruto, standing by his wife's side. "Not a lightning style, but I think Shino's right... something about this guy was different."

"His chakra structure looked nothing like any of the other shinobi we've encountered."

Everyone turned and glanced at Hinata. Kiba and Akamaru finally made their way around the large crater and regrouped with the rest of them.

"What do you mean, Hinata?" asked Kiba.

"There were no chakra points... none, whatsoever. It was like a river that constantly rippled from the center of his body." she answered.

"What? But how does-" Kiba started but stopped as he held his head, soothing a sudden throbbing. The drawbacks of the gates were much better to him than they were thirteen years ago when he first started learning to use it from Guy, but he was always tired after he used them. The headaches were occasional, but nothing a night of sleeping never fixed.

"You alright?" Shino asked.

"Yeah... Yeah, I'm just out of it." he said, getting on top of Akamaru. "They're already gone, their scent is way out there now. We should let the Hokage know."

"Hang on a second, Kiba." said Shikamaru. "You're obviously pretty drained. You should get back home, we'll let her know what happened."

Kiba yawned. "Yeah, alright. Thanks."

**X X X**

"I swear." whined Hidan as he and Kakuzu sat in the main living quarters for the Akatsuki hideout. "It's been two fucking weeks and we're already chasing people in your gay little bingo book! Why do you even have me come along? You know I hate that shit, shit! It's a total sin!"

Kakuzu ignored him for the moment as he crossed another name out of the bingo book he had carried. His stitched up smile widened as he crossed out the name and picture of another missing-nin that was killed while he was dead.

"Stay then. No one makes you come." he replied.

"What? Ah, come on, Kakuzu, you know I'm just fucking with you... kinda."

They paused and turned to the entrance as Deidara and Tobi walked in, Trunks right behind them.

"Hey, it's you." Hidan said to Trunks. "Looks like they didn't get you. Tougher than I thought."

Trunks smirked. "I'm fine, thanks."

His face quickly returned to his annoyed expression before he entered. He had a bone to pick with the Illusive Man for leaving him completely alone and never showing up like he had said he would.

"I'll be back." he said, walking towards Zetsu's office.

"Huh?" Hidan thought as he walked by them and headed up the stairs to their leader's office. "What's his deal?" he glanced at Tobi and Deidara, who simply shrugged their shoulders.

**X X X**

"He got away?" Tsunade asked harshly at Sakura, keeping Tenten up for support.

"Yes, Lady Tsunade. It was my fault." Sakura replied. "When Deidara broke the light and got himself free, I didn't grab him fast enough."

"It wasn't just him." Tenten spoke up. "That Tobi guy was there, too. Plus that new guy? Trunks? He was doing some _really_ weird stuff that I've never seen before."

"What kind of stuff?" asked the Hokage.

"He blocked one of Kiba's kunais with one finger. It didn't even cut him." said Sakura. "He blocked one of my strongest hits with just one hand. He didn't even flinch when he did it."

_An Earth user who knows the Steel Skin Jutsu? No... not likely if he was able to block something from Kiba. And even I can break through Steel Skin... and Sakura's strength has surpassed even my own now._

"Lady Tsunade?"

"Hm? What is it, Sakura?"

"Oh, nothing, you were just sort of dazing off."

Tsunade cleared her throat. "I see. Yes, it's been a long day. We'll worry about this tomorrow. Tenten, get some rest and stay off that leg until tomorrow when we can heal it. Sakura, make sure she makes it home."

"Yes ma'am." they replied together.

As the two kunoichis left, Tsunade gripped the bridge of her nose, remembering just an hour ago the frightening news Shizune had brought to her attention.

(One hour ago)

"Lady Tsunade!" Shizune yelled, barging into the office in a swell of panic.

"What is it?"

"It's Suna!" she said. "An ANBU from their village was seen unconscious close by our own. He won't stop talking about some sort of freakish attack going on."

"What?" Tsunade asked, her eyes filled with shock as she stood up. "Take me to him, now."

**X X X**

"No, no, you can't- You can't stop him. You run, and run, and run, and BAM! That's when he gets you!"

The Suna ANBU was forced to be strapped down as Inoichi desperately tried to get any information out of him.

"Anything yet?" asked Ibiki.

"No. It's too bunched together. I'm getting too many images and thoughts at once." he replied as he kept his hand on the man's head.

"You got my head. Hehehehe, sometimes he gets your chest, or your back, or your neck- he doesn't care! He eats, and eats, and EATS until there's nothing left! Shizaku, Ryko, I'm so sorry! I couldn't save you guys, I was so scared." he whimpered, trying to move his body, unable to due to the heavy straps keeping him down.

"Hold on." said Inoichi. "I think I got something, Ibiki."

Lady Tsunade entered the room and approached Inoichi, waiting for him to finish his mind reading. Finally finishing a few minutes later, he took an exhausted sigh.

"He ate them, sucked them right out of their clothes! Water Style, Fire Style, Earth Style- SOLAR FLARE- Dead now, all dead! Only me, why me? Where's Lord Kazekage? No, Lord Gaara can't beat him, he'll get the sting, too! Sting sting, bing bing! Hahahahahahaha!"

"Well?" she asked.

Inoichi shook his head. "Nothing's clear. Just civilians running and screaming. The only thing that was clear in his memory was him and his two comrades fighting some creature. It killed his comrades and several others. From the looks of it, he was the only survivor."

"He said something about 'the sting.' Did you see anything?" the Hokage asked.

"Yeah... Yeah, I did. Whatever this thing is, it's got a gruesome way of finishing people off. The way it killed his comrades, it would stab them and drain the person out completely, leaving only their clothes. It explains the hundreds of pairs of clothes scattered about the village I also saw before I saw this, as well."

"Akatsuki?"

"I doubt it, since the Akatsuki are only after the jinchurikis. No... Something much, much worse." said Inoichi. "Whatever it is, it matches the cases we've been receiving about small villages suddenly losing their entire populations."

Tsunade glanced over at the unmasked ANBU member, laughing hysterically to himself as he tried to wiggle around in his restraints.

_He's completely lost it. _she thought. "Alright. We need to send a team in, right now. Reconnaissance only, but engage if they encounter whatever this is. We have to find out what's causing this and get to the bottom of it before it strikes again!"

(Back to the present)

_Whatever this... thing... is. We have to stop it._

**X X X**

Complete, and absolute silence. The breeze of the desert would roll in, carrying away small articles of clothing. A stroller rolled across the street and stopped in the middle of the road. A large hole could be seen in the middle of the tiny outfit within. Another hole could be seen on a large shirt, the sleeves still holding onto the stroller.

"Huff, huff."

Kankuro had been on this street before. Was he running in circles? _Gaara, where'd you go? We can't stay away like this!_

Something fell and caught his attention, he turned quickly with his scorpion puppet ready on hand. He had no idea what was going on. He had only just gotten back from a mission when he saw the front gates, and his first glimpse at the few of many victims. When he found Gaara, they traveled closely together to hopefully find out who was behind this, but got separated shortly after that.

Luckily, nothing was there. That's also what scared him, _nothing_ but a street filled with empty clothes laying all across the road, and not a sound escaped the village. Even infants, children, and the elderly. No one was spared. It sickened him, and shamed him to know that he was not here to protect anybody.

He ran to the end of the street corner after hearing a bottle fall and shatter on the ground. He opened the door and glanced inside.

It was a bar, one that he had quite a few memories here with his sister when she would visit from Konoha. Only this time, new memories seared their way into his head. Tables were overturned, more clothes laid on the ground, the tables, even the bar itself. He stepped inside and knelt down, examining one set of clothes. It was a robe, from a Suna ANBU. Next to it were two others, their masks not too far apart from each other.

"There's holes in the robes... just like everything else." he thought to himself. He slammed his fist into the ground. "How the hell did this happen? How could all these people..."

He glanced up again, noticing more casualties in the building. It was a frightening sight to him, and most likely to anyone else who would see it. A city, a great nation, had become a graveyard. ANBU robes, shinobi outfits, even a wheelchair sat on the other side of the bar. No one was spared, and that's what angered him the most.

After examining a few more pairs of clothes, he shouted for survivors a few time in the bar, but received no response.

"I should check, at least." he said to himself as he made his way up the stairs.

The upstairs scared him even more. The darkness of the outside only added to it, as the power was cut off during the attack, leaving everything difficult to see in the confined spaces. Finally reaching a door, he turned the knob and entered the room. A dim candle lit the room, and the puppet master gazed upon a bed. The sheets were ruffled with, and the scattered lingerie suggested this room was used for services. The hole directly in the middle of the bed, that piercing size of a puncture was all Kankuro needed to see to realize whatever it was that did this, it had claimed these unfortunate souls as well.

_No one... even children, elderly... disabled, everyone's dead. How?_ he thought. "HELLO! Anyone still here? I'm a shinobi, is anyone still here? Anyone?"

Silence.

"Fuck. It was worth a shot." he said to himself.

He made his way downstairs and towards the door, taking care to listen closely to anything that may surprise him. He never knew, this thing may have been following him this entire time, and he was not about to be added to the list.

But something caught his eye. At the edge of the bar, facing closest to the door, was a piece of paper. He picked up the paper and glanced at it, then figuring out it was a picture. The moonlight helped make the image a bit clearer, but the image itself was hard to make out.

All he could see was a tail. A long tail, the end of it deep inside the chest of a Suna ANBU member. A few pairs of clothes were on the ground, and several others were running, or too terrified to move. Kankuro glanced up at the one pair of clothes laying on top of the bar he saw when he came in, figuring that was the person who took it.

"You knew someone would come." he said to the clothes. "Don't worry, we're gonna find out who the hell did all this."

He stepped out of the bar and into the open again. The image of that picture, even the ANBU had no chance against them. Suna was not the strongest nation of the five, but it wasn't incapabl of defending itself. Yet for some reason, an entire hidden village laid empty and quiet. The tail he saw, and what it did to the shinobi defending, it angered him knowing he wasn't there to do something.

"But... what could I have done, anyway?"

"Nothing."

Kankuro shot around to see a long tail shooting towards him, a sharp stinger extended as it headed for his chest.

He nimbly side-stepped the attack and glanced at the tail as it shot past him. _What the hell? What is that thing? Is that what got everybody? _The tail swung back and went for his back, but Kankuro was ready for it this time, throwing himself forward on the ground as it shot past him, shoving himself up immediately after in case it was going to come around for another attack.

The tail retracted itself, Kankuro following its path with his eyes as it finally ended at the one who wielded it.

What he saw, he never even imagined in nightmares. The two sections of his head shot off in different directions. His body was colored of an assorted light and dark green mix. range colored parts near his abdominal area, and over the back of his head. He had two wings at his back, reaching down past his legs, a dark green littered with black spots all over it. His mouth had an orifice-like appearance to it, also orange. His eyes a piercing light shade of red. By all accounts, he had very compatible human characteristics, five fingers, standing on two legs, but he was more of a humanoid variation of a cicada.

"Not bad." it said. "You're the first one that's been able to dodge that. And here I was thinking this would be all too easy."

"Yeah, well I typically play hard to get." Kankuro said back. "Who are you?"

He chuckled to himself. "My dear boy. You won't be alive long enough to remember."

"Wanna BET?" he shouted as he moved his fingers in assorted directions, the scorpion puppet flying straight towards the creature as it unleashed a barrage of poison-tipped kunais and shurikens. The projectiles crashed straight into the target, merely to bounce right off with absolutely no effect. The scorpion puppet pulled out a long katana, thrusting it into the chest of the creature, only for the blade to completely snap in half upon contact.

"What the?"

The creature laughed at its futile attacks. "I take back what I said. You're merely a step above too easy."

He then grabbed the puppet by the throat, staring into it. "You fight with puppets, is that it? What a mindless waste of talent." he said as he yanked the puppet completely off of the chakra strings Kankuro had on him, tossing it to the side.

"Much better." he added on. "Now then..." he began stepping to him, a starving look in his eyes set upon the puppet master as he held his ground, knowing he may very well be the last shinobi in the village.

"What is this guy?" he asked out loud.

"Mmm, do not fear for those who I have killed. They are a part of something great now, a perfect being that is slowly climbing the latter to its prime power until it can return home to claim what is rightfully his." he said to him. "I am merely the consumer."

"You... You're a fucking freak! You killed ALL of these people? WHY?" he demanded.

"I think that's enough questions for now. All will be revealed when you are a part of me. Now then... it is time."

His tail shot ahead from his back straight towards the puppet master at an incredible speed. With no time to take his scrolls out to call on more puppets, Kankuro quickly pulled a kunai out as he assumed a defensive stance, ready to duck and roll again when it came close enough.

But suddenly, the tail stopped. Kankuro covered his eyes from the irritation he was receiving. It felt like... like _sand_.

"Hm?" the creature asked loudly in annoyance. He turned his head around to see a man close to him with his arms crossed. He wore full-length dark trousers, a long-sleeved crimson coat with flaring hemlines on the front and the back, a grey holster vest held in place by a single strap over his left shoulder and by two buckled belts which appeared to be the support of a very large gorge on his back.

"Looks like I missed another one." he said out loud, turning to face him in his direction.

"You're the one responsible for this." said Gaara.

"Indeed. Now then, my friend, what can I do for you?"

The sand that had stopped his tail separated into five clouds of sand, connected by the long extension from his gorge. Without time to react, the creature was caught, his hands, feet, and tail gripped by Gaara's sand as he stood there with his hands still folded, his eyes coldly fixed on avenging his people.

"Before I kill you." Gaara said. "Tell me... Who are you? Are you Akatsuki?"

Amused by the Kazekage's little act of attempting to restrain him, he grunted loudly, his eyes bulging from the amount of energy he gathered as he broke completely free of the hold. His tail quickly shot ahead towards Gaara, reaching to about a foot away from his face before the sand smacked the tail away.

"Try again." Gaara said stiffly.

He chuckled "I think that's enough for now." he said, caressing his hands after being trapped for the brief moment they were. "You're the last two people in this delicious village. I will grace you with the knowledge of myself like you have requested before I swallow you up. Think of it as a prize for being the last ones standing."

Gaara didn't flinch, though inside he was surprised he was able to break out of that hold so easily. This thing was abnormal, powerful, and worse... It was only him and his brother left in the entire village. If they went down... no one would know about this thing. It would continue to eat until everyone was sucked up.

The creature smiled to himself as his tongue ran across his thin orange lips.

"My name is Cell. I'm an android."

**END!**

Yep! I did it! Cell vs Gaara? This should be interesting! For those who are wondering about Cell, don't worry, I'll explain everything in the next chapter. (Like, where the F did he come from, right?) Anyway that's about it, please review, and I'll see you guys next time!


	7. Chapter 7

Here ya go. As you've seen in the last chapter, Cell somehow made it into this world and already started by emptying Suna and other small villages. Yikes.

Chapter 7

"An android?" Gaara thought out loud. "Explain."

Cell chuckled. "Gladly. You see, I'm a foreigner to this cozy little land you have here. I've come from the future to find certain individuals. Unfortunately, before I could make that attempt, the person I was rendezvousing with went into a completely different direction, and now... here I am."

"Individuals? What are you talking about?" asked Kankuro.

"It is irrelevant. I am thousands of years before their creation, much less the birth of the brilliant mind known as Dr. Gero."

"That still doesn't answer my question." said Gaara.

"Mmm, of course." replied Cell. "I am completely bio-mechanical. Created, but of flesh and bone, no mechanical components necessary. With my creation I was gifted by the cells of the greatest fighters of the era. Their abilities, powers, fighting techniques, even traits of their personality; it is all a part of me."

"I see." Gaara replied. "Why did you come here, from the future?"

"Coming back this far was not my intention, nor was it my decision to make. I simply... hitched a ride, with an old associate."

(Flashback)

"_You see, the time I came from contained two very special individuals I needed to absorb to complete my absolute transformation. Much to my dismay, a certain boy named Trunks destroyed them, leaving my evolution impossible within this time. I attempted to confront him, steal his time machine, travel back in time and absorb the androids myself." _Cell narrated, as the scene of him fighting Trunks in the future timeline played out, Cell clearly outmatched and attempting to destroy the planet with a Kamehameha.

As it played out, Trunks responded before Cell shot off his attack by launching a Heat Dome Attack, completely overpowering Cell and obliterating him.

"_My attempt proved unsuccessful. Fortunately for me, a single piece of me still remained. High in the sky, a piece of my head still remained intact, allowing me to regenerate my body completely and absolutely._"

Cell dropped to the ground, glancing around as he couldn't sense Trunks' power anywhere near him. Suppressing his power to a minimum, he made his way back to West City. Finally reaching his destination, he listened in on a conversation Trunks and his mother, Bulma, were having. Piccolo's amazing hearing came in handy as he safely kept his distance, hearing every word.

"Are you sure it will work, mom?"

Bulma smiled as she playfully punched her son's chest. "You worry too much, son. Yes it will work, so long as the guardian is still alive, the Dragon Balls can be used anywhere, it doesn't matter what time. Just keep in mind we may not be able to wish as much as we'd like. My dad always told me crossing times with that kind of power could alter its capabilities, but we only need one wish anyway."

"Right." he replied, his stomach immensely growling from hunger as his mother stared at him.

She sighed with a smile on her face. "Just like your father. Come on, I was just getting ready to fix lunch."

The two walked away from the time machine as they entered the rickety building of Capsule Corp, leaving their unsuspected stalker behind.

"_A confrontation would have lead to the same result. I was no match for him, so instead, I waited."_ Cell said. Taking the small window of opportunity, he quickly rushed to the time machine's side and began giving a light glowing aura around his body as he slowly bent over, changing colors as he regressed into a smaller form. A large, dark-brown insect slowly crawled up the side of the time machine, uncomfortably sitting in the cockpit as it began to glow once again, its size growing even smaller and smaller until all that remained was a large purple egg, which rolled to the back of the time machine and easily out of Trunks' sight.

"_Regressing to my larval form was a desperate move, with no way to defend myself or hide myself, I was fortunate enough to roll to the back of the time machine and out of sight._"

(End Flashback)

"Soon after the time machine had crashed, and Trunks and myself were ejected. After growing back to my cocoon state, I burrowed into the ground, deeper, and deeper, waiting to regain the strength I needed to resume my search. Much to my misfortune, collecting strength took much longer than I had thought, and when I had awoken, I realized I was not within the same world as the androids. It was also unfortunate that I had lost all of my power in the previous time, as it was taken from individuals who do not exist in this realm. Therefore I had to start fresh."

Cell took a few steps forward but Gaara remained standing, showing no expression whatsoever, barely containing a swelling anger he was ready to unleash onto the monster for sucking up every single person in the village. _His_ village.

_This guy's bad news._ Kankuro thought, keeping his distance behind Cell and his brother, but slowly walked forward in case he needed help, though he wasn't sure how much he would be able to do. _And we can't do anything. We're the only ones left! Damn it! Why can't I wake up! This has to be some kind of sick nightmare, it has to be!_

"More of a drawback was the lack of physical and inner strength when I finally emerged. The amount of time it took to finally break my cocoon shell drained my already diminished power significantly. I guess it's your lucky day." Cell chuckled. "Had the circumstances been any different, and I kept my power I originally held before coming to this world, I could have easily devoured you. Regardless, you will provide a very tasteful amount of energy. Now..." Cell stepped forward again. "What do you say we get this over with?"

Gaara kept his arms crossed, his face never changing from the time he met the monstrosity.

"I will stop you. As the Fifth Kazekage of Sunagakure... I'll make a stand for all of the innocent people you killed"

"Ha!" Cell laughed. "What are you, still trying to hold onto that title of yours? You're merely a leader of one man, standing right behind me." he said, taking a finger and pointing behind him to Kankuro. "What good is a King if there is not a kingdom to watch over, to protect, to rule?"

"You would not understand." Gaara simply replied.

Not even a second after the second "d" in "understand" left his mouth, Cell felt the ground loosen, almost liquify. He shot his eyes to the ground and noticed the entire area around him had become sand, violently storming around him as it rushed at him in different directions. Cell flew up, matching the speed at which the sand was traveling, getting higher and higher away from the ground.

"So, he controls sand well enough to shape it from the earth itself. This should be fun."

Unfortunately, his overconfidence foreshadowed to get the best of him. A long stream of sand shot at him from the front, Cell quickly dodging it. To his left, another shot, and again he dodged. When another beam shot at him from the right, he easily moved out of the way, looking down at the Kazekage from the great height he was at.

"Interesting. Let's put you to the test!" Cell said as he fired a small ball of yellow energy down to Gaara. The Kazekage jumped back from the attack, glancing up to see Cell was gone from where he originally was.

"Gaara!"

Heeding his brother's obvious warning, Gaara took no risk on the shield being too slow to protect him, ducking down to avoid a quick kick from Cell at the last moment. The sand enveloped around Gaara, completely surrounding him as it slowly melted into the ground.

"Hiding in the ground, are you?" Cell said out loud.

The ground began to turn to sand again, this time, Cell was ready for it. He flew up quickly, getting further from the ground. A large number of what appeared to be human arms shot up from the ground, heavy, bulky fists slamming themselves at Cell, who nimbly dodged them. Another fist came at him, Cell ducked under it, then ducking to the right as another one was quickly coming after that one. One came from behind, too quick to dodge as it had gotten too close. Cell charged a quick blast of energy into his hand and fired it at the sand hand, destroyed the figure as the sand fell down to the ground.

"Thank you for the warm-up, Gaara." Cell chuckled as he stared down at him from several feet in the air. "But if you're finished now, I will gladly end this game of yours."

**X X X**

The Illusive Man stood with his arms crossed, staring into the half divided star that seemed so close and yet so far away. A low humming noise came to his ear, something he was familiar with; someone was coming up on the projector.

Someone he was expecting.

"Hey, Illusive Man!" called Trunks. "I've got a bone to pick with you. What the hell was that earlier today?"

The Illusive Man said nothing as he remained standing still, his arms crossed, his eyes clearly focused on something he considered more important than Trunks' disappointment and frustration at him.

"Hey! I'm talking to you! You completely left me behind without even any sort of notice! I got piled by all of those Konoha shinobi after my cover got blown, and-"

The Illusive Man turned around, his steely-blue eyes staring down at him, stopping Trunks as he awaited for a response.

"We've got a bigger problem right now." he said.

"What?" Trunks asked, surprised. "What are you talking about?"

The Illusive Man gripped the bridge of his nose in irritation. "I was unaware, though I should have anticipated it. And now I'm paying for it. Careless of me."

"Huh? Paying for what?"

"Never mind that, it isn't important. What is important, however, is this new threat that has emerged. I apologize for not accompanying you to Konoha, but I had my reasons. Two very significant reasons, in fact. The first being that while on my way, I had discovered they were anticipating Akatsuki activity. By that time, you were already far ahead of me, and pursuing you for an extraction would have been detrimental for everyone, including myself. I need to remain hidden if we are going to work effectively. Hence why I sent Deidara and Tobi for the job."

"How did they even know? Did someone tip them off?" Trunks asked, his curiosity getting the best of him.

"In a sense, yes. There was a man you fought, with Deidara and Tobi named Tokaku. Do you recall?"

"Yeah... I remember he summoned a huge tidal wave out of the blue and got away."

"That tidal wave dragged Deidara to the borders of Konohagakure itself. When you and Tobi found him, there was a small group of shinobi who were nearby. One of them was an Inuzuka, and an experienced one at that. He had picked up the scent and alerted the Hokage, which I was not aware of until I was able to examine the perimeter on my way to the village."

"An Inuzuka?" Trunks asked. "That means... hill of dogs." his eyes then opened up widely in a realization. "Wait! This person, did he have a dog? Like, a big one?"

The Illusive Man nodded his head. "That's correct. He was able to tip off the Hokage. 'Visitation Papers' do not exist in Konoha, they were merely a way to get personal information about you, and although it was simply basics, they now have a full identity over you. And your recent scuffle with some of their finest shinobi is going to put the entire Land of Fire on high alert. This complicates things over an already complicated issue."

It made sense to him, as much as he didn't like to admit, he had been played for a fool. Still, despite all of that, Konoha didn't really seem, or _feel_ like an enemy. Just a village trying to protect its treasure, or so he figured.

"What was the other reason?" he asked.

The Illusive Man took a seat in his chair and pulled a cigarette out. Lightning it, he inhaled the fumes and released them out of his mouth in a quiet exhale.

"Cell."

"!" Trunks' eyes shot open in absolute terror and surprise. His heart sunk to his stomach the second that name registered into his thoughts. Cell was alive? It had to be a lie, Trunks knew he had defeated him in his timeline, and Gohan had destroyed him in his own.

"What? N-No! That's a lie, it has to be!"

"I'm not making this up." The Illusive Man said sternly, crossing his right leg over his left. "I came back once I got wind of an unsettling situation. I've been monitoring it from here personally, and it took me some time to figure out what was causing this, but there is not mistaking it; Cell is still alive."

Trunks' surprise quickly turned to anger. "And you're just sitting here while he sucks away everyone? You're supposed to be an activist for humans! How can you just sit by while Cell is out there devouring-"

"By the time I had a fix on him, it was too late." said the Illusive Man.

"... You mean?-"

"Sunagakure, a village in the southwestern area of the Five Nations, has fallen victim to Cell. I'm sorry, Trunks. There was nothing I could do to stop him before it was too late."

"Then they're all... they're all-"

"Not all of them." he spoke up. "Well over three-quarters of the population has been absorbed by Cell, but the Kazekage, Suna's version of a Hokage, has intercepted Cell before he could finish off the entire population. The very small trace of citizens and shinobi left have evacuated the village and are currently en route to Konoha for refuge."

"He won't make it!" Trunks shouted. "The Kazekage, he won't beat Cell! You have to let me go after him! I'm the only one who can do it!"

"Cell is weak from his time travel. Gaara can hold his own-"

"Time travel? What are you-... No! Are you serious?"

The Illusive Man took his cigarette into his mouth and inhaled, releasing the smoke from his mouth. "While I was monitoring the confrontation I was able to gather information exchanged between him and Gaara. He hid away in your time machine as an egg when you traveled."

Trunks' anger soared at his carelessness. _How the hell could I have let this happen? I was so SURE I had blasted him away when I fought him! Now he's loose around in the past up to his old tricks again. Great, way to go, Trunks. This is bad... I've gotta stop him!_

Trunks without a second thought bolted from the projector connecting him to the Illusive Man and out of the room, jumping down the single flight of stairs in one jump. Exiting out of the headquarters, he didn't hesitate to power up and fly off towards the direction of the now obvious high power level. _How was I so blind to it? Why couldn't I sense it? That other power level... it must be the Kazekage. I can't let Cell absorb him. Gotta hurry!_

**X X X**

Cell's smirked as he took his hands and formed to cup them together. The formation of his hands slowly leaned toward the side of his body, yet despite the distance from the ground, Cell could tell Gaara showed no concern or fear of the imminent attack.

"If only you weren't so ignorant to the damage I am about to lay to you and this ridiculous village. I'll be sure to spare your life, I do plan on enjoying you as a very savory, succulent snack." he said as he pulled his hands further back to his side.

"Ka... me... ha... me..."

Cell's smile widened to almost hysterical with insanity as the empty space in his hands began to shimmer brightly with a bright blue sphere gathering. From below, Kankuro and his brother looked up, completely unaware of what was about to happen. He had used no hand signs, called no elemental type, yet he was just about ready to unleash what appeared to be pure chakra.

That was when Gaara made his move. Lifting his right hand up, his loosely hanging fingers stiffened straight. Cell, never considering the possibility of any repercussion from his dodging Gaara's attacks soon saw the error in his judgement as his body came to a complete and stiff halt.

Cell blinked, and the Kazekage was floating in front of him, less than a few feet away on a cloud of sand in constant motion, his right hand still holding in place and keeping Cell's body frozen.

"What... What is this?" Cell demanded. "How did you-"

"Sand... and a mixture of my brother's mastery over the Puppet Jutsu." Gaara calmly said. "Each time you dodged an attack I threw at you, a light coat of sand attached to your back. To help prevent it from being noticed, each grain spread around your body to make the feeling of sand completely in sync with your own skin and more difficult to notice a difference in feeling. Once that happened, I used the Puppet Jutsu my brother had taught me to paralyze you."

Cell's near complete attack slowly faded away as the energy was sucked away by the sand. He could feel his muscles contracting, and much to his surprise, he was having a much more difficult time breaking free from this hold. This shock was infuriating, knowing that had he had more time to gather strength, he could have easily destroyed this man in front of him. But as of now, he was completely at his mercy.

_This is absurd!_ Cell thought. _I'm superior to him, I have to be! How is that he's able to match me, even surpass certain qualities of my own perfect design? It's inconceivable!_

"You got him, Gaara!" shouted Kankuro from below. "Take this guy out!"

Cell simply chuckled as he stared at Gaara. "You think you've won? Fool! Kill me and there will be no way to bring back any of those I absorbed!"

Gaara stopped for a moment as his eyes quickly widened up in shock.

"Yes, I see I've made you come around." Cell said. "It's true, however. If you kill me, they will never come back to you, they'll simply be gone forever. But, let me live, and I can reverse the process. It's a simple matter, really."

"WHAT? Gaara, don't listen to this guy!" Kankuro shouted, getting his brother's attention.

"Kankuro..."

"You gotta listen to me! Listen to your big brother! This guy's just blowing smoke up your ass! You can't reverse death like it's nothing, and this guy sucked up everyone in the village! You can't let him get away, you're the only one who can stop him, and you NEED to do it! Otherwise he's just going to keep doing it until the Five Nations are all a bunch of empty cities!"

Cell was relieved to know Kankuro's words had no effect on Gaara as the sand slowly slithered off of his skin.

"Mm-mm, yes, I'm glad to see you made the most logical choice." Cell congratulated. His sleek expression quickly became an excited look of frenzy as his tail extended at shot forward, the tip expanding widely to an appearance of a large plunger head, ready to devour anything it grabbed.

"That delicious sand, and your ability to control it will be mine once I swallow you whole! Now, IN YOU GO!"

Cell's ignorance was something Gaara had counted on, and he had played right into what he had wanted him to do. Merely a foot away from his face, the sand smacked the oddly-shaped tail away from the Kazekage.

"WHAT? That's impossible!" Cell shouted to himself. "Of course... that sand, it's a constant shield. I won't make the same mistake again."

"You're right." Gaara began. Cell heard a loud rising of sand. He shot around and saw a tremendous wave of sand, almost a tsunami in size towering directly over him. Its width was dozens of feet wide, completely cornering him and cutting his chances for escape down to decimals in likelihood. "You won't."

Cell's wings shot to the side as he tried to fly up, but he was stuck. He glanced back down and saw that Gaara had a strong, thick layer of sand acting as cuffs to his legs, keeping him where he was. The android could do nothing but growl and brace himself for the impact of the sand wave that began to topple over.

Yet much to his surprise, the wave of sand did not crash into him, rather, it completely wrapped itself around his body, leaving only his head exposed while his entirety was completely engulfed in sand.

"You...! You bastard, you tricked me!"

"As you me." Gaara replied. "It doesn't matter now. This is the end for you. As the Fifth Kazekage, and as an avenger for all those you have killed... I will end your life, so that you may never end others again."

"W-Wait! All those people!-"

Gaara ignored his attempt to call out to him as the sand around him then covered his head completely, ensuring his body was utterly covered. Holding his right hand out, he took all five points and slowly brought them closer to a grip, forming a premature fist.

"Sand-"

"MMMMMFFF!"

"-Coffin."

Finally shutting his fist completely, the loud and gruesome crunching and breaking of bones and skin could be heard from under the sand, as well as Cell's horrified muffled cries of pain. Gaara released his fist, allowing the large collection of sand to fall to the ground, making a small crater on impact. The more-than-likely mutilated Cell still remained inside, and his physical condition was still unknown as the sand never let go of him.

The light of the moon finally broke through the clouds and granted illumination to the empty village as the Kazekage brought himself down off the small cloud of sand he was floating on and stepped off, Kankuro meeting him at the body bag of sand on the opposite side.

"Is it over?" Kankuro asked, glancing around the street. To think, everyone he knew in this village, aside from his brother and sister, had all been killed; eaten by this monster that was crushed to death by Gaara.

Above them, Trunks glanced down at the scene. It was just as he had imagined; empty streets, clothes laid about where the people had dropped, and the eerie sense that Cell had been there was all too familiar. Like a powerful scent that remains no matter what, this village had been tainted, cursed. Forever.

He finally set himself down, Gaara and Kankuro giving him their attention as his landing was merely a few feet from them.

"Did you do this?" he said, pointing to the large collection of sand sitting in a small crater.

"Yes." Gaara replied.

Trunks picked his right hand up and pointed his open palm at the large chunk of huddled sand. "He's not dead, move, I'll finish him."

"What?" Kankuro asked in surprise. "Are you serious? Look, I don't think you saw what happened, but Gaara literally crushed that freak to death. There's no way anyone can survive that, especially when it's wrapped around your whole body."

Trunks started to get frustrated, thinking Cell was dead after that was a grave mistake, though their ignorance could not be blamed since no one had ever seen or fought someone like him before most likely. "Listen!" he looked over at Gaara. "I know you're strong, but if you don't let me finish him, he's going to regenerate, and he'll be even stronger than before because of such a serious injury! I can't explain how, you just have to trust me and let me finish him off!"

"Regenerate...?" Gaara said out loud. A moment later, the sand began to slide away from its collection and back to Gaara and the gourd it was being held in. "I don't know who you are, but if you are sure he is that dangerous, I will not stop you."

"What? Gaara are you-"

"It's fine, Kankuro." Gaara said, looking at Trunks. "He doesn't mean any harm."

Trunks' hand quickly lit up with a small yellow ball of energy forming, waiting as the last of the sand left and returned to Gaara. Just as Trunks was about to shoot, he noticed something that brought anger and chills down his spine.

Cell was gone.

"What the?" Trunks asked out loud. "He's gone?"

Trunks was beginning to panic. He couldn't let Cell get away. If he did, this world would suffer for who knows how long, and the future would be completely ruined, hell, there would _be_ no future if Cell was allowed to roam free.

Suddenly the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. An all too familiar smell of death and hot flesh worked into his nostrils, as a dark glowing part of red eyes gazed behind him.

"Hello, Trunks."

The flashbacks of his past, fighting Cell himself, and all those he had killed along with the Androids surged through him as he quickly reached for his sword and pulled it out, swinging behind him in a loud angry shout, only to hit a quickly fading image of Cell who had long since disappeared.

"I must thank you, Gaara. This little altercation has been... stimulating. Nearly crushing me to death, why, that would have killed anyone else."

The three looked around until they finally caught Cell on top of a small restaurant, his arms crossed and his tail slowly swaying in motion, waiting to claim its next victim.

"However, I am not anyone else. The moment you crushed me, my cellular structure immediately began to reformulate itself."

_Damn it! I should have been quicker! I could have gotten here sooner, I could have stopped him! Now he's even stronger than before!_ Trunks desperately thought to himself. To be in a panic against this Cell was not something he would normally be in, had he been in his own time line. However, with the way things have been going, Trunks' unsure level of control over his power, if it is even that, gave him a sense of uneasiness against Cell, who despite being much weaker than him normally, was still anything but a pushover.

"I love the Nameks. An amazing race." he chuckled. "I am the greatest of all races. And thanks to Goku and Vegeta's Saiyan blood, I'm much stronger than before. You'll find ridding me... a more tedious challenge than before."

"No! I won't let this happen again!" Trunks shouted as he clenched his fists together and began to power up, a white cloudy aura quickly shrouded his body as his hair violently blasted about.

He felt his power raise and raise, and then hit a ceiling. He couldn't raise his power anymore. He had gotten stronger, but he was still in his base form. _I can't transform? No, no, no, no, not now!_

"What's this? Don't tell me you've been slacking, Trunks. It would be a pity to absorb you when you are not at your peak."

"This is more than enough to take you on!" Trunks yelled as he shot up towards Cell.

Cell chuckled as he kept his arms crossed in anticipation. Trunks flew a kick at Cell, who simply leaned his head back to avoid the attack completely. Trunks swung his sword diagonally at Cell, only for the android to grab the blade. He took the moment to flip over behind Trunks, grappling his legs around his waist, his arms around his chest and pinned him while standing.

"So reckless. So eager to jump into the fight. Just like your father." Cell said, the damp and disgusting air of his breath layering itself on Trunks' neck.

"Don't talk about him like you know him! You know nothing about my father!"

"Ha! And what exactly can you do to stop me? You've gotten sloppy, Trunks. Not transforming into a Super Saiyan against me is a grave mistake. I'm a little insulted, actually, that after you bested me when we last fought you'd underestimate me by staying in your base form. Well, look where it got you. All mine, now."

Cell's tail shot up straight into the air, finally curving and diving straight for Trunks' chest.

"Now, come to me! Become a part of perfection!"

The tip of the tail pierced straight through his skin, burrowing as far as the tip could go. Trunks immediately shouted out in pain, the tip felt like a knife. He tried to break free from Cell's grip, but he was relentless, never letting go. It was no use, Trunks couldn't transform, and was completely at Cell's mercy as a sickly excited cackling escaped the mouth of the android.

_This can't end like this! If he absorbs me, no one will be able to stop him! I gotta... break free!_

"There now... that's a good boy. Just wait, this won't take long." Cell said, his laughter turning hysterical as his tail began to process the energy from Trunks' body.

Trunks cried out, shrieking in terror and pain as he felt his body numb from being drained away. Another pump of energy left, he could feel dizziness taking over him. Another pump, his head was spinning, the world in front of him began to blur heavily. Another pump, his mouth went completely dry, and his eyes began to itch from the sudden dryness that overcame them. Was he going to die? Is this what it feels like to have the life sucked out of you?

_Can't... move... Mom..._

"AGGGHHHH!"

Before another pump of energy was taken away from the half-blooded Saiyan, he could feel the warm stinger leaving his chest, as that, and a large portion of his tail fell in front of him. Trunks was released from Cell's grip from a reaction to the pain, and fell over on his face, heavily disoriented and completely unaware to what was happening.

Growling, Cell turned and looked down to see Gaara and Kankuro standing with three new people. To the right, a man with long dark-brown hair, tied in a loose ponytail. His eyes were a pure white, the veins visible from the eye all the way to the edge of the temples on his head. To the left, a man wearing his headband to what seemed like a bandana stood with a rather mellow and relaxed stance, with a senbon hanging out of his mouth like a piece of straw. In the middle stood the leader, and apparently, the one who caused the damage to his tail. A tall man with spiky-white hair and a mask covering his face from the nose down. His left hand held his headband above his left eye, which had an obscure characteristic about it. It was red, with a peculiar design within the iris.

"So, it seems we have more lambs for the slaughter." Cell said as he completely turned his back to the fallen Trunks and faced his new opposition.

"You're awfully confident for someone who's severely outnumbered." said Neji.

"There is no reason not to be. The man I just defeated was the only one who was capable of besting me in power. I'm afraid you three will be... leaving me wanting more, shall we say."

"I wouldn't put it past us. What's a bee without its stinger?" Kakashi asked while watching Cell's dismembered tail swaying around, the blood slowly crusting and dripping from its open wound.

"Hey. Gaara." said Genma. "You said this guy wasn't Akatsuki?"

"No." he replied.

"I'm sorry, my friend. Your analogy of the bee... it's not quite accurate." said Cell. With his tail looming over his back, he gripped his fists together. The end of the tail pulsed once, twice, three times, and on the fourth it finally spat out a perfect regenerated version of the tail that was blasted off. "When bees lose their stingers, they're gone for good. But when Cell looses his, well, he just grows another."

"Cell?" Genma asked. "Wait a second, that's the name person who's responsible for wiping out those other villages. Sucked them right out of their clothes..." he glanced around the street. It was eerily empty, merely clothes, strollers, and canes, laying about the pavement and sidewalk. He could only image what the last moments of their lives were, running, screaming, begging for mercy as this freak of nature drained them of everything they had.

"Neji, you ready?" asked Kakashi.

"Always."

"Genma."

"No prob, Kakashi. Let's go, Gaara."

Gaara and Kankuro kept their eyes on Cell as they and Genma quickly left the scene, leaving a confident Cell with Kakashi and Neji.

"You and I aren't finished, Kazekage!" Cell shouted as his wings shot out and the android dashed towards them.

"Neji!"

"Right!"

Neji quickly darted in the path of Cell's running direction. Taking a defensive stance, he put one arm behind him and kept one forward as he prepared to launch his first attack.

"Fool! I'll just take you first, then!" Cell shouted as he shot his tail forward ahead of him towards the Hyuga.

"Rotation!"

Before the tip could come close enough, Neji announced his attack and quickly spun himself around in a violent circle, easily deflecting Cell's tail, and Cell himself as he was knocked back onto his side. The Hyuga ceased his movement and stared down at Cell, who was picking himself up and carried an annoyed look on his face.

"What's the matter? Annoyed because your food is actually fighting back this time?" Neji taunted.

Cell chuckled. "What an amusing speculation. No, I find this to be a much more... satisfying way of consuming. The hunter always enjoys his meat more because he earned it, and I'm sure I will enjoy you and the others much more after I have pulverized each... and every one of you." he finished by licking his lips.

"What happens when the hunter becomes the hunted?"

Cell's face turned to shock as he heard another voice behind him. Barely a second later, Dr. Gero's creation could feel a hot piercing feeling entering from his left chest. Like magma shooting from a volcano, it bursted out of the front of his chest. Cell's glanced down at the hand, covered in wild sparks of bright blue lightning, and then the hand was gone. He gripped his now fresh and open wound, fell to his knees, and collapsed to the ground.

"You okay?" Kakashi asked Neji.

"Yes." he replied. "Kakashi-sensei. There was someone he was attacking when we arrived. We should check on him."

"I was just thinking that. Wait here." he replied as he jumped up to the rooftop. Kneeling down, he took his fingers to check the pulse of the half Saiyan.

_Okay, looks like we caught that freak before something bad happen-... Hold on a second. Have I seen this person before?_

Something about him was oddly familiar. Long lavender hair, a sleeveless blue jacket?

_Wait!_ he thought as it hit him. "It's him. He's the new Akatsuki member the Hokage was telling us about."

"Neji!" he called, turning his head back. "Let's catch up with Genma and the others, they're gonna wanna hear this."

"Oh yes, they will."

Kakashi's gasp was loud and filled with shock as Cell stood directly in front of him from what appeared to be almost a teleport from the ground he laid down on.

"!"

Before the Jonin could react, Cell slammed a fist directly into his gut. Kakashi hunched over in pain, grabbing his stomach, coughing up blood that soaked within his mask, lining his lips with the crimson liquid.

_But how? Is he like Kakuzu? Multiple hearts? I don't understand, that was a direct shot! He shouldn't even have a heart period after that!_

"I see you are in a bit of pain. Too much to speak, it seems. I'm sure you're wondering how I recovered from your impressive light show. It's quite simple, really." Cell said as he tapped the side of his head. "I have the cells of the greatest fighters from the distant future deep within my blood stream. One of which come from a Namekian named Piccolo. His wonderful ability allows me to regenerate any part of my body- organs included- so long as my head is intact."

"Wh... What have you done with Neji?"

"Ah, yes, him. I decided to save my dessert for last. Yes, it seems I have myself a delightful full-course meal. The appetizer, the main course, and the final piece is laying flat behind me."

_He's still alive... good, I can't take this guy by myself. And it looks like the other guy is down for the count, too._ Kakashi thought.

"Don't look so distraught, my dear friend. You should rejoice! For you will help build the perfect warrior past his breaking points. You only need to stay right... where you are."

Cell licked his lips as the tip of his tail widened to its large vacuum-like appearance. "Now then, come to me!"

Kakashi gasped as the top of the tail grabbed his upper-body, completely engulfing everything from his chest and up. He muffled loudly as he attempted to squirm out, only for it to be a futile attempt. Cell had won.

His sick laughter echoed throughout the entirety of Suna as Kakashi was inched up into his tail, little by little, until-

_**BBBBBZZZZZZZZZ!**_

"AGGGGGHHH!" Cell shouted as a strong wave of electricity surged over his body. He glanced at this tail, an embarrassing and infuriating feeling overcame him as he realized he had been tricked.

Taking the one opportunity he had, Kakashi, the real Kakashi, jumped high above Cell's still electrical body and tightly shut his left eye. A second later, a small collection of blood drizzled from his eyelid as the eye opened again, its strain obvious from the several red lines across the eye.

"Amaterasu!"

The black flames shot from his eye at a great speed towards Cell. In the nick of time, the android broke out of the electrical current and jumped away from the flames just in time as they hit the top of the roof.

"What? There's no way he's that fast."

Still in the air and slowly coming down, Kakashi glanced around, trying to spot Cell. He was relieved when he saw Neji laying on the ground, remembering Cell remarking he was going to save him for later. The disgusting thought of that monster treating them as the course to a meal made him uneasy just thinking about it.

Kakashi finally landed on the ground next to Neji, who was groaning from his previous attack. Injured, but alive at the very least. He glanced straight ahead to see Cell roughly twelve to thirteen feet in front of him, his arms crossed in amusement.

"Perhaps I have taken you too lightly." Cell said. "You have a unique ability. It all comes from that eye, doesn't it?"

The Sharingan was beginning to weigh heavily on him. He had since become much more adept in the years of training, including the awakening of new abilities, but the enormous drain it took on him was always in effect.

"Indeed." Cell answered for himself as he noticed Kakashi's breathing get louder from exhaustion. "Exacting my reason for not absorbing you in the fashion I normally would. You see, bio-extracting from the tip gives me all the energy from the individuals I consume. It does not give me their abilities, for that, I must do things... differently, shall we say."

"You're giving me an awful lot of information. Are you sure that's a smart thing to do?" he asked.

_I can't beat this guy. He's too quick, he knows it. And I don't have a lot of chakra left._

"Think of it as a courtesy." Cell said. "Now then, are you done with your useless struggle?"

Cell started stepping towards Kakashi. The Jonin got ready, not sure what more he could do. He was buying time at this point, and he knew it. But how much time he could buy is what was critical.

Almost immediately, Cell was right in Kakashi's personal space, his fist raised. His right came down to his face, but the Sharingan gave him a slight chance to prepare for it. Kakashi barely caught the fist with one of his hands, staggering to keep his balance as he struggled to keep it at a standstill.

Cell chuckled at his block, even more so at the fact that he wasn't even trying very hard to break through. Regardless, he was getting enjoyment at the silver-haired Jonin's struggle.

He tensed his tail up and shot it straight for Kakashi's face. Avoiding another close call, Kakashi took his right hand and grabbed the end of his tail, being careful to stay out of the reach of the tip.

He groaned loudly as he struggled to keep him at bay. He was too strong, he had to keep every ounce of energy into just holding him back, but he knew that would eventually break off soon.

_I can't do anything. If I use the Mangekyo Sharingan again he'll have that window to get me. And if I miss, I'll really be out of options._

"Mmm, I do grow tired of this. After all, you're not supposed to play with your food." Cell said. Using his free left hand, he raised it up while keeping the palm open. A warm feeling formed in his hand as a small blue ball of energy formed in it.

"I'll be sure to leave you well enough alive. I am indeed curious to see what I myself can do with a man of your abilities. Indeed, first you, Trunks, that other man you are with, and I'l be sure to catch up with the others once I am finished."

_**BAM!**_

Then help came from above as a strong kick was delivered into Cell's face, sending him flying into a nearby house, crashing inside it. The kicker let himself down to reveal it was Trunks, coincidentally regaining consciousness when the Jonin needed it most.

"You..." Kakashi said to himself, standing up straight to regain his composure.

"Get out of here." Trunks bluntly stated, staring at the rubble where he had kicked Cell into. He was still alive, he knew it.

Kakashi didn't really know what to make of him. The report were true, though. Shoulder length lavender hair, blue eyes, and the signature ring carried by all Akatsuki members. All that was missing was the black cloak and its red cloud designs, but he was helping him. It became obvious to him this thing, whatever it was, was not only not human, but also not Akatsuki.

He walked back and lifted Neji up, placing his arm around his shoulders for support as he raised him up. "You okay, Neji?"

"Ughn... Yes, I'll be fine."

A second later, Cell came flying out of the rubble, directly towards Trunks at an incredible speed. He swung a roundhouse kick towards Trunks, who simply blocked it with his arm. Trunks countered by taking his free hand and slamming it directly into Cell's gut, sending him back several feet. The android recovered quickly from the attack and back flipped to his feet.

"You have an annoying habit of showing up when you are not wanted." Cell said.

"Coming from the person who invited himself into a village like this and swallowed everyone whole, I'd say you're the last person to tell anyone this."

"Don't you lecture me, you little punk!" Cell growled agitated. Trunks was the only person that could match, and best his power without a problem. He knew that, and that's what made fighting him so aggravating.

Trunks clenched his fists together as he raised his power level. Again, he hit the ceiling, stopping at a powerful level, but not enough to toss Cell around. He still would have a slight advantage.

"This again, mm?" Cell said. "I'm surprised you would be foolish enough to try something that didn't work the last time."

Trunks gripped his fists tighter, concentrating his energy as his power slowly pushed itself against the ceiling holding his power back. He grunted loudly, slowly getting louder as the moments passed by.

**X X X**

The Illusive Man sat in his chair facing the star. His eyes glowing in their bright light as he took his hand and waved it over.

"All right, then, Trunks."

**X X X**

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Trunks shouted. Cell could sense it in him; his power went from a near standstill to a huge jump in less than a second.

Kakashi and Neji watched from their short distance as the Saiyan Akatsuki began displaying an incredible amount of power at once. Neji watched as Trunks' energy violently thrashed about inside his body, like a pack of wild animals desperate for escape.

_My god... what power._ the Hyuga thought to himself.

Cell watched in horror as Trunks' hair suddenly stiffened up in several directions going away from his head. His pupils turned from their blueish color to a solid green. Dr. Gero's creation watched as fallen rubble from all across the city was slowly picked up and raised into the air.

Finally, Trunks gave a final shout as his energy finally hit another ceiling, but it didn't matter at this point. The debris and rubble around him that had risen was shot away from the force of his energy being released. When everything cleared, Cell saw what would be the bane of his existence. His hair had changed color, a dark gold color now coated the locks of his hair. The flashing aura was a gold shimmering coat, and his eyes remained their greenish tint.

"Cell." Trunks said. "It's all over. I'm stopping you again, for the last time."

Cell clenched his fists together as a quick golden aura surrounded him, identical to Trunks'. "I see. So, you've decided to get serious."

"I've never been more serious about erasing you from existence than I am now. It wasn't enough, was it? You had to go and take the lives of all these people in the past!"

Cell looks as if he was going to say something, but Trunks did not allow it as he quickly dashed to him, kneeing him in the stomach and sending him flying upward. Trunks charged up his energy and flew straight up after him. Cell recovered quickly and swung his foot at Trunks, who quickly grabbed his foot and swung him around, letting go as he flew down to the ground.

Just before Cell crashed into the ground below, Kakashi and Neji jumped back, narrowly missing the plummet of the large creature. Without any time for the smoke to recover, Cell had spread his wings and flew back up towards Trunks craving revenge.

Cell launched his fist forward, Trunks quickly blocked it without much trouble. Trunks threw a punch at Cell, who caught it with his one free forearm. Trunks took the initiative by slamming his head into Cell's, catching him off guard as he shouted in pain. The Saiyan balled his fists together, crashing it into Cell's head and tossing him down to the ground once again. Only this time, Trunks followed straight after him. Just before Cell hit the ground, Trunks was already on the ground, throwing his fist into Cell's back- or so he thought. When the fist went in, Cell had disappeared just in time to avoid the attack. Trunks glanced over to his right, jumping just before Cell's tail could stab him again. He quickly countered by driving his foot into Cell's face, sending him sliding back several feet as he uprooted the ground along the way.

Cell wheezed heavily, his breathing giving off a gargling sound as long streams of purple blood dripped from his mouth, droplets touching the destroyed line of ground he was pushed through. Trunks stood at the end, a cold look in his eyes resembling him to Vegeta more than ever. He knew this time he was not going to make room for error.

_There will be another time. _he thought to himself. He staggered up, finally regaining composure.

Trunks, without waiting another moment longer, charged straight at Cell, throwing a fist straight into him, only for Cell to disappear before it hit him. He looked up, noticing Cell standing on top of the roof of a restaurant, a smug look on his face with his arms crossed.

"I must say, this day has made a fortunate turn of events. Wouldn't you agree, Trunks?"

"Screw you, Cell!" Trunks said. Kakashi and Neji stood not too far away, being viewers of the fight all along.

_Is this what I was really up against?_ Kakashi thought. _I never even stood a chance. And this guy, Trunks... he's even stronger than him. Where did these guys come from?_

"I have enjoyed this game. Even in this time, there are still few characters that manage to amuse me. I'll enjoy myself while I meet the rest of them."

"You're not going to meet anyone else except the pavement, Cell!" Trunks shouted, his gold aura shooting up again as he readied himself for another attack.

"Some other time, my boy. I have... pressing matters to attend to." Cell chuckled. He took his hands and opened them widely. Taking them, he placed each hand on its respective side of his head. "Let's catch up sometime soon, Trunks."

"What! Cell!" Trunks knew what he was about to do, he had to stop it. He rushed towards him, flying as fast as he could. But it wasn't fast enough.

"SOLAR FLARE!"

Trunks flew directly into the sun, or so it felt from the brightness. He lost his balance, bumping into the balcony of the restaurant as he tried to feel his way around, but he knew it was too late. Cell was well on his way away from them. Kakashi and Neji shielded their eyes, for whatever good it did them as the burning of the attack kept them blinded for the duration of the move, which felt like an eternity.

When the light finally subsided, Cell was gone. Trunks tried to feel out his power, but it was completely invisible at this point. He had done it again, just like when he and Krillin had come to help Piccolo in the past. Cell knew he was outmatched and ran, using Tien's signature move as his rope for escape.

"CELL! COME BACK HERE! YOU COWARD!"

Trunks fell to his knees, punching the ground in frustration, leaving a small crater in the ground. His gold aura finally ceased, and his stiff golden hair loosened and fell back down, returning to its lavender color. His eyes regained their blue color as he stood up and glanced over at Kakashi, still carrying Neji on one of his shoulders.

_Konoha. _he thought as he noticed the headbands on both of the shinobi.

"Don't worry." Kakashi said. "I'm not going to try anything. I don't think I could, really. That creature was too much for me, I don't want to see what you can do." he said, giving a slightly humorous aura to his speech.

"Did the Hokage send you after me?"

"No, but I do know who you are. You're Trunks... and also an Akatsuki."

Trunks tensed up at the way he said it, like he was some sort of disease, an enemy.

"But," Kakashi started "As you and I clearly saw, there's something a lot worse going on."

Trunks nodded. "You haven't seen half of what he can do. Cell is a complete demon to every living thing on this planet."

"You've fought him before."

"Yes, and I thought I had killed him when I did. I was wrong, as you can see." he coldly admitted.

Kakashi took his headband, closing it over his Sharingan. There was no need for it now, the fight was clearly over, and even if Trunks turned aggressive, he was too worn down to put up much of a fight. He knew he was outclassed.

"I'm surprised you're a member yourself." Kakashi said.

"What makes you say that?"

"You don't fit the bill. You're not a psychopath killing for religion, money, or just killing for the sick thrill of it. No one's ever heard of you, and you show up out of nowhere with no sort of criminal record, only for the majority of the dead Akatsuki to be now resurrected around the same time."

"... It's not what you think." Trunks said to himself, loud enough for Kakashi to hear.

"I see." he replied. He walked towards Trunks and stepped slightly behind him before stopping. "Ask yourself if you're fighting the right fight. Sometimes it's easy to support one side, when you know nothing about the other."

The words ran in Trunks like an old gong, and when Trunks turned to say something to the silver-haired Jonin, he was gone.

_Where'd he go? I can't sense him anymore._

**X X X**

"It's not a complete loss." The Illusive Man said. "If anything, this may work in your favor."

On the other side of the room, a man stood in the shadows. All that could be seen were his sandals, and the length of the bottom of his robe touching the base of his feet. His voice was rough and senile, calloused over the years.

"Possibly."

"Don't doubt yourself too much. Cell is a threat, no doubt. But he can be an invaluable asset to us both, in our own respective ways."

"Indeed? How so?" he asked.

The Illusive Man smiled, lightning a cigarette and smoking it once before projecting his words into voice. "I get what I want, and you get what you want."

"Waiting is not something I like doing, Illusive Man."

"Nor do I, but I assure you, Cell's genetic codes are a marvelous work of art. Dr. Gero was a brilliant man in every aspect of the word. And I can promise you that if time is alloted, it will become clear to you why he is to be left alone for now."

The man in the shadows sighed. "Very well."

"I wouldn't worry too much if I were you. If all goes according to plan, you should be able to finish off Cell without any trouble, and I'll have what I need before that happens. I'm a man of my word."

"We'll see."

**END!**

Ooooh man, crazy stuff huh? Cell had quite a bit to deal with, only to run away like a little bitch XD And what's up with the Illusive Man and this mystery guy? Something's going on! Apologies for the late update, I'll get started on the next chapter as soon as I can. Just been kind of busy, thanks for those who have favorited this/alerted this. Please review, and I'll see you guys next time!


	8. Chapter 8

Let's spend some time relaxing in this chapter. No fighting, kind of. Sound good? Good!

Oh yeah, lemon in this chapter. Yep, first one so go easy on me. =P

Chapter 8

"What? How the hell does paper beat rock?"

Early in the mornings, when they had the time to, Kiba liked to take his son out to train before the day started. Over the years, he gradually took his son under his own set of training, for wanting him to be familiar with his own clan's abilities just as much as any other jutsu he learned.

"Hey, I didn't make the rules. It just does." Kiba replied to Kiyosato.

"So if I took some rock off the street and threw it at you, you could block it with a piece of paper?" his son asked.

"In the game I can."

"Well the game's stupid."

"Hey, do you want rock to have two wins? Paper wouldn't even be needed in the game, and since scissors loses to rock, it would just be people hitting rock until they got bored."

"..."

Kiyosato really couldn't believe he had a debate over a game of rock-paper-scissors, much more than the fact that his father used some kind of logic to prove how paper could beat rock.

"All right then. Since you lost, you come at me first."

"Right, Dad."

The two dogs slept peacefully knowing their masters were used to sparring one-on-one and requested no interference. Kiba always told Kiyosato that a day would come when he wouldn't be with his companion and he would have to fight without him. This way, the training would prove to have the nin-dog as a boost in strength and a companion, rather than a crutch needed for certain attacks.

Kiyosato quickly bent his knees and rushed towards his father. He dropped down and swung his legs, attempting to trip him, but Kiba was already in the air avoiding the attack.

"Too predictable! What are you doing, son? Assume your enemy knows everything about you, and do something out of character." Kiba said as he landed on a branch with his arms crossed.

His son growled, but he knew he was right. It was the only thing he hated about training with his father; he was an incredibly critical teacher.

He jumped up after him, but rather than swing at him, he slashed at the branch, cutting it off the tree completely. That took Kiba by surprise as he jumped away onto another tree branch. Barely able to catch his breath, he swung his left to block a punch from his son. Using his right, he quickly socked him in the stomach, jumping up and roundhouse kicking him in the head, sending him to the ground.

Kiyosato crashed into the ground, but quickly got back up and jumped away when he saw his father come down with a kick, landing the foot into the earth.

"Why are you watching me? Use your nose! If you can't see your enemies, you need to be able to smell them!" Kiba said as he went on the offensive, his son barely able to dodge any of his father's attacks as he could feel the air of the attacks strike his skin; feeling as if he was actually hit.

"What? Dad, hold on! You didn't say you wou-" he was cut off before finishing as his father delivered a strong punch to his face, knocking him on the ground.

"I didn't say I wouldn't jump in, I said it was your turn to attack."

"That's cheap, Dad." he growled back to him from the ground. "I thought we were going by-"

"For the LAST time, Kiyosato, your enemy isn't going to FOLLOW the rules. That's why you need to be ready for it. If you keep following rules of combat the way we were doing it, you're going to end up getting yourself killed on a mission one of these days. You've been lucky you haven't had any _real_ problems so far."

Kiyosato stood up in frustration. He knew his dad was right, but it bothered him to be lectured like that.

"I don't play by the rules, because I know they won't." Kiba finished. "If you think like that, you have a way better chance of making it home." he gave a heavy sigh as he walked up to his son and pat his shoulder. "Don't beat yourself up, you're a lot stronger than I was at your age."

His eyes opened up in surprise. "Really?"

"Yep. I took a couple of good thrashings and it took me training from Guy-sensei to get me on the right path. You, you just picked it up naturally. I think you get that from your mother."

"Yeah, she's pretty smart." he smirked.

Seconds later, the sliding door to the backyard opened and Sakura stepped outside, yawning as she stretched her arms.

"What are you two doi- WHAT HAVE YOU GUYS DONE TO THE YARD?"

Kiba and his near look-alike son turned around and see branches severed, lawn uprooted, and several areas of the backyard nearly destroyed beyond repair.

"...Did we overdo it again, Dad?"

"Yeah... yeah, we did."

"Is Mom mad?"

"Yep... yep, she's pretty mad."

**X X X**

_It's too early..._ Aki pouted in her head as she walked down the street as the clock struck 10am. She yawned loudly as she ruffled her hair danging in front of her eyes to the sides of her head, looping over her ears.

"Okay, what's first on the list... let's see." she pulled a small piece of paper out. On it was a list of things she had written down. Last week, her, Shinta, and Natsuko had planned to surprise Kiyosato with a birthday party at his home. As the week drew closer, they each assigned themselves what to get. Natsuko jokingly volunteered her to take care of the cake, but she was more than happy to accept it.

_They're my best friends. All of them, especially Kiyo; he's like my brother._ she happily thought to herself as she made her way to the grocery store and stepped inside, surprised at the traffic already within.

_Who shops this early by choice? Ugh, what a drag._

She stepped inside and made a left towards the aisles and started walking down. First aisle was cleaning materials, the second being toys, they dragged on until she finally reached the baking aisle.

_Okay, that was easy enough. Now all I need to do is- OH CRAP I DON'T KNOW WHAT KIND OF CAKE TO GET._

This should have been a no brainer to her. She had hung out with him enough to figure out what kind of cake he liked, right?

Then it hit her! She had only hung out with him on actual birthdays twice that she could remember, and they were kids. What if she picked the wrong cake? What if he didn't like it? What if he was allergic to a certain flavor?

"Hey Aki, what are you doing here?"

"EEE!" she squeaked as she turned around, clamping her mouth shut as the last person she was expecting to see was standing right in front of her.

"Um, you know, just looking for some soup!"

"... But this is the baking ais-"

"I KNOW THAT KIYOSATO!"

Kiyosato all of a sudden developed a wide grin on his face. The kind of grin she was familiar with.

"What? What's so funny?"

"You're gonna try and bake a cake... and _not_ burn it! Right?"

"..."

"Right?"

"..."

"What, what's wrong?"

_**SLAP!**_

"Hey what the hell, man?" Kiyosato whined as he rubbed his now throbbing cheek. Takamaru whined at his master's injury, though he was used to it. They were pretty violent with each other, even when they were younger.

"I'm not a bad cook. That was just an accident. Actually, _you_ were the one who caused it!"

"What? How the hell did I cause an oven fire for something you were cooking in _your_ house?"

"BECAUSE YOU TURNED THE TEMPERATURE TO 550F WHEN IT WAS ONLY SUPPOSED TO BE 350F!"

"What?" Kiyosato looked puzzled. He was sure she had told him 550. It was only a few months ago when it happened. "But you told me to set it to 550?"

"No, I didn't! I said 350F, instead, you set it to 550F and almost annihilated my kitchen!"

"Well then why'd you tell me to set it to 550?"

"... You know what, never mind." she huffed, walking away from him.

_Wait a second._ she thought, stopping in place, literally. "If he's here, maybe I can get the information out of him about the type of cake he likes. Okay, so not a total loss."

"What's not a total loss?"

"!" she clamped her mouth. _I just said that out loud! What's the matter with me? Okay, calm down, I can still play this out. Remember what Dad always says, _"_Look both ways before you cross the road._" _No, not that. The other thing. _"_Aki, you're my daughter, and I love you, but you're being a real drag._" _UGH! Think!_ _"Always another way out of something. If you don't see it, you haven't looked hard enough."_

"Yeah, you know it's just uh. Well, there's this guy, right?-"

_WHAT?_ Kiyosato thought angrily. _A guy? Fuck! What about me?_

"-and his birthday is coming up really soon. So I was going to bake him a cake for his birthday."

_Wait, hold on a second. My birthday is coming up... 4... 3 days! She has to be talking about me, she's just gotta! Okay Kiyosato, play it cool. This is my big chance._

"That's pretty nice of you to do that. Whoever that guy is, he must be pretty special to you, right?" he asked calmly as they both examined the list of cake ingredients.

She smiled as she shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah. He's a better friend to me than he thinks he is; a lot like a brother practically. I just want to show my appreciation."

_Brother? Aww! Now I KNOW that's me she's talking about!_ he pouted to himself, trying his hardest to keep his face steady.

"Hey, Kiyosato?" she asked, looking to him.

The look on his face was a look of confusion and annoyance, but subtle. He had a good way of hiding how he felt, even though Inuzukas were known for expressing themselves very assertively.

Finally he snapped out of it and stared back at her. Something about her tomboyish appearance and attitude drove him wild on the inside. It always had, even when they were kids. Having a mate who was so much like him would feel like having a best friend at the same time. He wanted it like the way his mother and father had it. Despite his mother always getting mad at his father for rather simple things, he could tell they were deeply devoted to each other. He was always told by them when he asked the secret to their relationship that they had quite a bit of experiences when they were younger. He never got much else out of it, but he could recall his grandmother mentioning something like that to him and his sister a while ago. He wishes he could remember, but he was a kid, and in some ways, he still is.

_Maybe that's why I'm just the brother._ he thought. "Yeah?"

She held two packs of cake ingredients in front of his face. "Which one?"

In front of him was a simple yellow chocolate cake mix. Pretty basic, but the other one caught his attention. A red velvet cake mix. He remembered last year his aunt Hana baked him one just like that, and the stomachache he had from eating so much of it.

He tapped his finger to the red velvet mix. "That one." he finished with a smile.

She smiled back and put the other mix back on the rack. "Cool, got it." then she paused, remembering she didn't come in with him, and wondered why he was even here. "Hey, why are you here?"

"Huh? Oh, out of dog food." he replied, ruffling the top of his best friends head, to which he barked back happily.

Aki knelt down and pat the head of the nin-dog.

"Is he feeding you? Go ahead, you can tell me. I won't say anything."

"Arf!"

She stood back up with the small packet in her hand. "Well, this is all I came to get. Let's all hang out again soon, okay?" and with that, she turned and left the aisle, soon after, she paid for the item and left the store itself.

The whole time Kiyosato stood there in the aisle. "Yeah, that'd be cool." he glanced down at Takamaru. "So? What do you think? Am I stuck in the friend-zone?"

"Arf!"

"What? Get out of here, yes I can!"

Takamaru whined.

"Well, okay, I'll take it easy. I mean... this is pretty serious, right?"

"Sounds like it."

Kiyosato shot back around to see a young man about a year older than him standing a few feet away. His hair was a thick black, the length falling down to his collar bone, his eyes a soothing brown color. He wore a standard shinobi flak jacket, symbolizing his rank as a Chunin, his headband hugged loosely around his forehead. He wore a short-sleeved dark blue shirt underneath, and wore a particular sash on his waist. The kanji _Hi, _or, _fire_ hung just below his belt.

"Mizukai?"

"Yep, it's me." he said in a bored expression. "I'm just here to pick up some stuff for dinner tonight. Mom's feeling under the weather."

As Kiyosato glanced at him, he noticed his eyes were slightly reddened. Possibly from crying, or allergies.

"Hey man, are you okay?"

"Huh? Yeah, I'm good."

"Miz, I can smell it on you. What's eating you?"

He sighed. "It's today."

Kiba's son thought about it. Then it hit him. "You're talking about your dad's birthday, right?"

Mizukai scoffed. "Yeah, that's it. I spent most of the morning at the cemetery, actually ran into Shikamaru-sensei about an hour into being there. We talked. It's crazy, you know? Feels like I knew him my whole life, even though I never met him."

Kiyosato felt his stomach flip. Mizukai was an incredibly gifted ninja, even better than he was by far. But all the talent he had in the world never filled the whole in his heart about losing his father before he ever got the chance to know him.

Mizukai Sarutobi. Asuma's son grew up hurt, and wanting to know his father, but never could. He wanted to hate him, but he couldn't. He never could, because his mother, his friends, and her friends, had nothing but good things to say about him. Even in the pictures he did have of him, he knew he could never hate someone like that.

"You know my dad had the same thing?" Kiyosato replied.

"Yeah, I think I remember you telling me a while ago. Sorry. I don't mean to sound like such a depressing person, it's just this day hits me pretty hard, know what I mean?"

Kiyosato stood there for a second in silence. He wouldn't know what he would do if it was him in that situation. Mizukai kept to himself a lot. He wasn't anti-social, but he never went out of his way to start a conversation with you unless he really knew you. Living without his dad really tore him apart, but he himself never lived with it, fortunately for him.

He pat his arm in support. "I didn't know him either. But my dad did, and he said he was a really good person. He died serving the village, I mean, that's a pretty honorable thing, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so. I don't know, I always get mopy on this day. I'm actually about to head out, let's grab some ramen when we're both free."

"Yeah man, that sounds good." he smiled to him.

Mizukai gave a weak smile as he walked off with his hands in his vest pockets. As he exited the building, bag in hand, he reached into his pocket with his free hand and placed a cigarette in his mouth. A moment later, it was lit, and he was on his way home, bud in mouth.

_Mizukai... you've got rough, man._

**X X X**

"I'm just saying." Kiba said, laying on his back on his bed while he tilted his head up to face his wife who stood at the foot of it. "I could smell it on him. He just needed to work it off, and he still probably does until he actually gets it off of his chest."

Sakura crossed her arms. She really had no idea about her son psychologically, nor her daughter, other than her own intuition. Kiba? He had that, plus his sense of smell could pick up so many things it made it almost unfair.

"Well, fine. Just don't tear up to the yard again, Kiba, okay?"

He smirked at her before rolling his eyes. "I'm sorrrrry."

She shook her head. "Kiyosato's been gone for a while." she said, looking at him.

"Yeah." he replied. "And Salayna's on a mission. Still, it's been a few hours, I didn't think he'd take so long to get a bag of dog food." his nose then went into action as he picked his son's scent up. "Nope, he's home, I take that back."

"Really?-"

"Mom, Dad, I'm home."

"Hey son!" Kiba called from upstairs. "We're upstairs."

"Okay, well I'm gonna go for a run. I just came back to drop the food off." he said as the noise of cabinets opening could be heard moments later. Another minute or two went by, and the door opened and closed again, locking seconds after.

"That was quick." Kiba stated.

"Well, looks like we've got the house to ourselves again." Sakura pointed out, glancing around the room.

A few moments later, Akamaru, who was sitting at the foot of the bed next to his master, perked his ears up as he glanced at Sakura. He stood, shook himself off, and walked out of the room.

"Where ya going, buddy?" Kiba asked.

"Don't worry about him." Sakura said, her voice much closer this time. Kiba looked over to the side to see his wife laying right next to him.

"Uh, okay." he raised an eyebrow. "What's up?"

Sakura smirked as she leaned in and kissed her husband gently, her hand moved down his shirt all the way down to his pants, stopping at where the button sat and gently rubbing her hand around it.

"Hey wait, right now?"

"Why not? Salayna's on a mission, Kiyosato just went out, even Akamaru took the hint and left the room."

"...Alright let's do it!" he said excitedly before rolling on top of her and wrapping himself around her. She giggled as his lips wet her neck and trailed around down to the top of her chest. She pushed him off of her as she grabbed her shirt and lifted it off of her, tossing it to the ground.

Not wanting to wait longer, Kiba quickly tossed his shirt off, sitting down on the bed as he slid his pants and boxers off all in one motion as they fell to the floor along side the bed. When he glanced back at his wife, he was happy to already see she had beaten him to it. She sat there, her bare skin was just as gorgeous as the first time they made love all those years ago when they were just kids.

So much had changed since then, but one thing never did, and that was this. She completed his life, even with her hilariously short temper, he couldn't imagine life without her.

He moved over to her, their lips brought together as he laid her down on her back. She smiled during their kiss as she wrapped her arms around his back, motioning him to start, which he quickly complied with, not wanting to wait any longer now that she had gotten him in the mood.

"Jesus, babe." Kiba huffed. "Your hands are freezing."

Sakura leaned her head up, deeply kissing him, tugging on his bottom lip as she slowly pulled away and let go. "You should do something about that."

He leaned his head down to gently kiss his wife as he lowered himself down and inserted himself inside her, causing her to catch her breath in his mouth. Their tongues battling, she moaned in his mouth as he began to slowly move himself inside her, steadily picking up speed as her hands gripped harder around his back.

Kiba growled as her nails dug into his skin. He could take pain fairly well, but when she grabbed him like that, it was always sensitive to his skin. He buried his head into her neck as he kissed her neck, never dropping his pace of pushing himself inside her. His wife's gentle breathing keeping the timing to it.

Her mind was in ecstasy, even though she was not unfamiliar with the way they had sex. It was always appealing. His more feral nature might have made his temper a bit short at times, but he was a great lover, as she always bragged to Ino whenever they would compare their husbands.

She took her legs and tightly crossed them around his lower back, trapping him into the rock solid motion he had been commencing, her legs touching the light coat of sweat already over his body.

His pace was constant and fast, rocking their bed as their hips ground together, mixing sweat and scent every moment they collided. Kiba already felt himself ready to bust, but he held himself back. He knew she was close, she always got quiet just before it happened.

"Oh shit I'm... Oh god!"

That was the sign. He grunted as he pushed himself harder, his pace at its absolute quickest as he heard her shout out in ecstasy as she came, himself letting go as they melted together within each other.

He sighed from exhaustion, toppling to the other side of her as they laid there, coated in a thin layer of sweat. They still had it, which helped him remember he wasn't that old yet.

"Hey." Sakura whispered, she turned to her side to face him as her hand danced across his bare chest.

"Huh?"

She said nothing as she quickly kissed his cheek, wrapping her arms around his neck as the light breeze of the fan above them filtered into the small holes of the blanket covering them. "I love you."

He smirked as he took his arms and folded them behind his head as he looked up at the ceiling fan, spinning quickly, but keeping his eye following one blade as it quickly made its circle again and again.

**X X X**

"I'm home!" called Aki as she entered her house. She walked into the kitchen and placed the cake mix she had bought on the counter and stepped out. She peeked into the living room to find her dad staring at a shogi board.

"Dad?"

"Hm?" he turned to see his daughter with a confused look on his face. "Oh, sorry. Guess I was just caught up."

"You're playing shogi against yourself?"

"Heh. I guess you can say that. No, I'm just remembering something." he picked his hand up as he still faced the game board and motioned for her to sit down. "Come here, I want to show you something."

She raised an eyebrow, but obliged her father as she sat down next to him on the couch.

"You remember this set up?"

"That's the climbing silver, right?"

Shikamaru nodded his head. "Right."

"So what did you want to show me?"

Shikamaru carried out the move, capturing one of his own front pieces with the piece on the other side of the board. "The last person who used this move against me died a few days later. He was a good friend of mine, and my teacher for years."

"Dad..."

"Before he died he told me something, and this risky climbing silver move made a lot more sense to me once he said it. Sometimes you have to make sacrifices, and that above all else you should protect the kings."

"Kings? Don't you just mean _king_, Dad?"

He shook his head. "No, because just before he died, he told me the kings were the new generation. That game held a lot of meaning, but I just didn't get it at the time. Now... yeah, it makes perfect sense to me." he took his arm and wrapped it around his daughter's shoulder. He looked over to her and smiled. "I hope someday you do the same thing, too."

She glanced at him and smiled. It was so rare to see her father like this, not that he was mean, but he was never too open much from the get go. Even her mother recalls only a few times where it really showed. He was a good father, just never one for emotions.

"Dad... you're so weird." she smiled as she kissed his cheek. "That's why I'm glad you're my dad. I don't think anyone would really understand you."

"Maybe you're right. Anyway, it's his birthday today, that's why I brought it out to the living room. I guess you can call it just thinking about old times."

"Do you still miss him?"

The words rang through his head. Memories flashed back from the day they were assigned to him, years and years ago. 19 years ago was when it all happened, and he remembered it all like it just happened.

"Yeah."

"What are you two doing?" asked another feminine voice as the lights turned on in the living room.

"Hey, Mom." said their daughter as she turned to face her.

Temari walked up behind the couch and glanced over at the shogi board Shikamaru had been sitting in front of. "This again, huh?"

Shikamaru smirked as he turned and faced her. "Hey, cut me some slack."

"Well, I'll get started on dinner. Aki, did you buy some cake mix?"

"Oh, yeah I did. Sorry, I'll go move it-"

"Who's it for?" she asked.

"Umm, well-"

"You're baking a cake?" Shikamaru asked. "You remember what happened last time?-"

"THAT WASN'T MY FAULT DAD! I TOLD YOU!"

"Hey sure, of course it wasn't. So who's it for?"

Aki's face immediately went into several shades of red at the question just asked. _Why am I so embarrassed? Kiyosato's just my friend, but I know they're gonna say something, I just know they will._

"Well Kiyosato's birthday is pretty soon, and Shinta and Natsuko and I split jobs on what to do... we wanted to surprise him."

Temari smirked as she placed a hand on her hip. "Really. And you just _happen_ to be the one to bake the cake for him, right?"

"I got volunteered for it, but I wasn't about to say no. I mean it's-"

"No, no, I get it." her mother interrupted. "I think that's sweet of you. If there's one thing I've learned is that men always love a woman who can co-"

"I'M NOT GONNA GO OUT WITH HIM, MOM!"

Nights like this were always loud for Shikamaru's family. His head never stopped throbbing sometimes, and he was sure any other man would have succumbed to the constant exposure to these two pushy women.

But as he watched his wife roll her eyes at their daughter, who was highly defensive in a deep shade of red covering her face, he knew he wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

**X X X**

"Andddd one for you, andddd one for you, too!"

This might have been the weirdest thing Trunks, or several of the Akatsuki members had ever seen Hidan do. He was not only in an exceptionally cheerful mood, but he was hanging out gifts to each member.

"Uh, hey, Hidan?"

"What's up, Trunks?"

"I don't get it. Is it some kind of holiday or something?"

"HAHA! Hey, Kakuzu! He wants to know if it's some kind of holiday!"

"..." Kakuzu stared blankly.

"No shit it's a holiday! It's Jashineka!"

"Jashine... what?" Trunks asked confused.

Hidan gave a heavy sigh. "It's like Christmas, only better! Cause Jashin is real, and Jesus is not!"

"Well I really think that's a matter of personal belief if-"

"ANYWAY!" Hidan said, cutting off the Saiyan. "In honor of Jashineka, all followers of Lord Jashin express peace to everyone they know by offering gifts to as many people as they can."

"That sounds kind of counter-productive for a cult that does nothing but kill people." Deidara pointed out.

"IT'S NOT A CULT YOU FUCKING FRUITCUP!" he shouted. "Okay, go ahead and open your presents, guys."

Each member of the Akatsuki glanced at each other awkwardly. Trunks and Deidara exchanged hesitant looks before nodding and opening their presents at the same time.

Awkward looks were exchanged between each member. What Hidan had done was taken a tree ornament and crafted them each into an event where a member of the Akatsuki had killed someone. Hidan carried a wide grin on his face as each member looked at it.

Dediara looked at his present. It was a tree ornament of him flying above Suna and blowing up his spiders in the faces of several shinobi who were keeping watch over the village. It was incredibly graphic, something Hidan most likely intended.

Sasori's ornament was a bit more disturbing. It was an image of him stabbing the Third Kazekage with the knife of a puppet which had attacked him. A graphic and more likely overdone scene showed Sasori's poison spreading across the chest of the dead Kazekage. The puppet master was beyond confused, since his poison really didn't work like that, at all.

"I'm surprised you knew about that, since I had been in the Akatsuki so much longer than you have. I'm more surprised you know than disturbed." Sasori said out loud.

Itachi held up his ornament. A graphic image of him slaughtering several Uchiha on the night he went on a rampage was shown as Itachi carried a happy and cheerful look while a wailing Sasuke stood behind him next to their dead parents.

"I had the most fun with yours, Itachi!" Hidan cheerfully said.

"Gee... you shouldn't have." he replied.

"Okay, Kakuzu, show everyone yours!"

"Hidan, I will end you."

This ornament Kakuzu showed was during his defection from his village while he killed the elders and devoured their hearts. Kakuzu was shown standing on top of five dead elderly men, all of which were randomly stripped of all clothing, with a happy Kakuzu standing with five hearts being juggled in the air.

"Aw, come on, I know you like it!"

"I didn't strip the elders naked when I killed them. Nor did I perform foolish circus acts with their hear-"

"JUST ENJOY IT, OKAY? I MADE ALL OF THIS MYSELF YOU BAG OF DICKS!"

"Hey... Hidan?"

"WHAT, TRUNKS?"

Trunks had the most puzzled look on his face. He had to assume Hidan had prior knowledge of the other Akatsuki members, but he _knew_ Hidan didn't know anything serious about him.

"How did you...?" Trunks stared at his ornament in complete shock.

"What? What is it?" Deidara leaned over to peek at the ornament. The background was a clear blue sky, and Trunks had a very different appearance about him. His hair was shorter, but spiky, and gold. To the left of the image was a man... robot... thing, being cut right in two by Trunks' sword.

"Who's the guy you cut up?"

"Agh! Hidan!" Trunks shot up, anxious to find out who tipped him off. Not that he was upset, but it was still absolutely shocking that anyone outside of the past he saved knew about that in such detail. "How did you find out about me killing Frieza?"

"You killed our Freezer?"

"No! This guy I'm cutting in half! How did you find out about me killing him?"

"Oh, that guy. I don't know, I just whipped it up."

That wasn't a very exceptional answer to him. As Hidan carried on his bizarre holiday, Trunks sat baffled, wondering if the Illusive Man slipped Hidan the information just to mess with Trunks, or if Hidan was just a really, really lucky guesser.

**X X X**

Several hours later, Trunks stepped outside into the hidden backyard area of the hideout. It was remarkably well landscaped, the lawn was a perfect shade of green signifying its health, a rocking bench sat near the door hung by two long chains attached to the ceiling. On that rocking bench sat Deidara, tossing small pieces of clay into the sky before blowing them up into small little pops.

"Not much for holidays, huh?" Trunks sarcastically asked.

"Tch, you kidding me, man? Hidan's a real nutcase, always has been, yeah." he kept his eyes to the sky as he kept lobbing small pieces of clay to their explosive demise.

Kakashi's words ran through Trunks' head once again. And then Shikamaru's. If the Akatsuki was such a bad organization, then what was he? Was everyone in this place really as evil as they said they were? There were people he wouldn't exactly call friendly, but neither was his father. Heck, from what his mother told him, his father was originally going to blow up the planet when he first arrived, and Piccolo wasn't known for being an outstanding citizen in his past.

He figured he would ask the closest person he had to a friend. He walked up to the rocker bench and sat next to him, catching the artist's attention as he glanced over at him. His bored look still remained as his long strand of hair laid flat over his respective side of the face.

"Deidara, I want to ask you something."

_What the hell?_ Dediara thought. _This is out there, yeah_ "O-Okay... what's up?"

Trunks sighed as he glanced ahead into the sky. Cloudy, but still a gorgeous shade of blue was visible, and the lack of the sun beaming down on them made the view that much more tolerable.

"Are we doing the right thing by hunting the jinchuriki?"

Deidara sighed, not holding back his hesitation to speak. He always doubted the Akatsuki, even after Itachi beat him and forced him entry to the organization. He was loyal, for fear of his life. But it never meant he believed in their ambition.

He returned his attention to the sky as he started lobbing more chunks of clay into the sky and popping them mid-air. "Probably not."

Trunks shot up, getting to his feet quickly. "What? Are you serious?"

"I don't know, but my gut tells me no, yeah." he bluntly replied.

"So it's true then? Sealing the tailed-beasts really does kill the host?"

"Yeah, it does. I captured the one-tail and the three-tail."

"You what?" Trunks asked, his frustration now beaming in the open. "You killed those people?"

"Calm down. The three-tail didn't have a host, and the one-tail host ended up not staying dead for long. Some crazy old bat revived him; she was Sasori's grandmother, yeah."

Slowly Trunks loosened his hands up, his arm slowly creeping to his sword before being cut off by Deidara.

"I don't like it either."

Trunks stopped. "What?"

"What?" Deidara looked at him, stopping his clay popping. "You think we all just signed up for this? I fucking hate this place. I never even wanted to join, I was forced."

"What... happened?"

"It was a while ago, yeah. Kisame, Sasori, and Itachi found me. Back then I was just a wild gun who loved blowing stuff up. My affinity for art really drove me when I was younger, I kind of miss that. Anyway, Itachi made some deal with me if he beat me, yada yada, I would have to join. He beat me, only because of that damn Sharingan."

"Is he really that strong?" Trunks asked, missing the point.

"He's stronger than I am, but so are you, I won't lie. I don't know, but after that I was pretty much bound by fear that if I left, Itachi would just kill me." he paused for a moment. "Anyway, not the point. Ever since I was brought back things have gotten weirder by the day-"

"Wait, brought back? What do you mean?" the Saiyan replied, his hair climbing over the collar of his Akatsuki robe as the breeze set in.

"What, you didn't know? I died. All of us: Me, Sasori, Itachi, Kakuzu, Hidan, I'm pretty sure even Tobi bought the farm after the stunt I pulled. Kisame and Zetsu were the only ones for a while."

"What stunt are you talking about? And how did you guys even come back?"

"I killed myself. Blew myself up actually." Deidara said, unbuttoning his robe. Once past his stomach, he lifted the mesh shirt up, revealing a mouth on his chest with stitches keeping it shut. "I just put a good chunk of clay in, and bam, it's ready, yeah."

The artist put everything back to what it was and re-buttoned his robe. "Anyway, I wasn't really sure how we got back. I just remember waking up, the sky was dark, lightning was coming in and out of the sky, and for a few minutes I saw some big dragon in the distance. After that, he disappeared and I didn't see it again."

_I knew it! Zetsu, the Illusive Man, one of them had to have used the Dragon Balls!_

Deidara took note of Trunks shocked and quickly growing anger in his face as he raised an eyebrow. "Hey, you alright?"

Could he handle the Illusive Man and Zetsu right now? When he thought about it, it was most likely the Illusive Man was behind it. Good intentions behind it or not- if they were in fact good intentions- he had no permission to use them.

_Okay... gotta calm down. I can't make a scene. Not right now._

"Helloooooo? Anyone home?"

Trunks quickly snapped out of his trance, his anger and slight shade of crimson- a trait he most likely inherited from his father- quickly disappeared as he returned to normal.

"Sorry, I was just thinking."

"That's a hell of a way to think, yeah."

"... Yeah, well. I got a lot on my mind."

Deidara didn't say anything as he watched Trunks descend to the ground, keeping his left leg crossed and his right leg up.

"I'm not from here."

"Yeah, I know."

"No, Deidara. I mean... I'm not from this time. I'm from the future."

"... Okay, I didn't know that."

"You wanna know why I'm so strong?" Trunks asked, staring at the artist. "There's a race called the Saiyans... they're almost human in every single way... but much stronger. My father was the prince of that race."

He sighed, surprised Deidara was somewhat interested in what he had to say. "Years ago, in my time, there were these things called Dragon Balls. There were seven in all, and if you got all of them together, you could make a wish and it would come true."

That made sense to him, but the blonde was still wondering where he was going with this. "So... you wished us back?"

Trunks shook his head. "I had no idea you even died. Or anyone else for that matter. When that wish was made, I was unconscious. In my time, my world was devastated by two people. They were androids, ruthless in every way shape and form. They destroyed cities, nations, even, and everyone and anyone who tried to stop them. Then they finally got their sick thrills on a high, when they slaughtered my father."

Talking about your problems could usually be a solution to pain, but for Trunks, it was a bucket of salt over a fresh cut. All those people, all his friends, his father, Gohan, everyone. He could never just give you a _short version_. How could you? A short version to your entire life, when all you knew was hiding, fighting, and crying.

"My mother... she was able to build a time machine. She told me if I went back, maybe I could save the past, and maybe I could learn the secrets of stopping the androids there. I ended up doing that, and I came back to my time and finally beat them. But then another idea was brought to my attention."

Trunks stood up, ruffling his pants as he crossed his arms. His Akatsuki sleeves hung over each other as the wind slapped them across the open air.

"There's a man named Piccolo. When he was alive, the Dragon Balls worked and could be functioned as long as they had time to recharge and were collected. But when the androids killed him in my time... they also killed the guardian of Earth; the man he was linked with."

Finally Dediara decided to speak up. "Wait, wait, wait, so even if that's all true, how come Mr. Sunflower was able to bring us all back if this Piccolo guy was dead?"

"When I traveled back in time, Piccolo was alive, but there was a new guardian of Earth. He made new Dragon Balls, and as long as he was alive, they would still be able to work, no matter where I went in time. As long as the guardian of _that_ time was alive, it would be okay."

"... Oookay... So now where does all this tie into us?"

"The point is that someone had to have had prior knowledge of me, or the Dragon Balls. My trajectory in the time machine was right on spot. But something made me go back in time, rather than forward."

"You think Zetsu was the one who messed with your machine?"

"No. I know he didn't. I know exactly who it was now."

"Hm." Deidara stood up from the rocking bench and approached the half Saiyan, stopping just before him. "Look, man, if there's one thing I've learned... it's that charging in never works. How do you think I died in the first place? I got too hot-headed and before you know it, boom, literally, yeah."

"I know." Trunks replied. He looked around, trying to feel any energy on the outside aside from him and Deidara. When he felt nothing, he pressed on. "Zetsu's not the real leader of the Akatsuki."

"Huh?" he quirked an eyebrow.

"There's another man, from the future, too. He doesn't have a name... just calls himself _The Illusive Man_. He's been pulling the strings from the get-go, having Zetsu play leader to be the eyes and ears for him."

Deidara wasn't sure why this didn't occur to him. He saw Trunks walk into Zetsu's office more than a few times, once when Zetsu wasn't even in his office.

"Okay, so we've got another higher-up, and he used these Dragon Balls without your say-so. Anything else?"

"He's also creating a serum to bring people back to life."

Trunks and Deidara shot their heads in the direction of the sound to find a calm Itachi standing before them, Kisame to his right.

"You." the artist coldly spat.

Itachi heard, but ignored. Instead, he kept his distance from them. "The Illusive Man. He's been using Sasori to conduct experiments on revival, with no jutsu involvement whatsoever."

"Bring people back?" Trunks asked. It made sense, they did not see the red-head very often. "Is it done? Where's the lab?"

Itachi shook his head. "The lab is hidden, and even if it were to be discovered, we would not interfere."

"What? You mean you'd just let him finish whatever experiments he was conducting knowing it could affect the fate of the entire planet?"

"You're not looking at it from the big picture, kid." Kisame finally spoke up. "Why is it so quiet here lately? How come spirits have been as high as they are?" When he waited for an answer from either of them, he spoke up again. "As long as Sasori is working, the Illusive Man's attention is completely focused on that. It keeps the peace, for now."

"So you two know, then." Trunks said back. "Then do you know about-"

"The Dragon Balls, yes." Itachi interrupted. Reaching into his cloak, he pulled out one of the balls, holding it face-forward to reveal the four-star ball in his hand. "One wish was used. I believe there is still one left. With that in mind, it would be safe to keep just one away from them until we can figure out how to appropriately deal with the situation."

"There _is_ no appropriate way to deal with the situation! We can't plan this kind of stuff out, like a couple of secret agents trying to take down the government! If he finishes that serum, with him at the head there's no telling what he could do, and I can't let the past be affected to this extent."

"I have a plan." said Itachi. "But I will need both of your help."

Trunks immediately nodded his head. He glanced over at Deidara, who was giving Itachi a hard stare the entire time he was with them. Finally he gave a stiff nod. "Yeah. Sure."

"Good. The first thing you need to do is stop acting like you know something." Itachi pointed out. "It makes you stand out far too easily. The other thing you need to do is completely follow his commands... even if you do not agree with them. It is not a good plan, but it is the only logical decision to be made until we find out more about him." he sighed. "I have... experience, in this type of field."

"Speaking of that... Zetsu mentioned we should come get you, Trunks. _He_ has a mission for you." Kisame said.

"Right."

As Trunks walked past them and into the estate, he climbed the stairs, thinking of only one thing. Not of the Illusive Man, not about the Dragon Balls, and not about the Akatsuki. Something under his skin that would always remain until something was done soon.

**X X X**

Another pair of clothes hit the ground. An Amegakure headband clanks quietly to the wet collection of grass, pebbles, and mud as a gurgling scream for help was silenced just seconds before.

"I see." Cell said. "It seems I _was_ heading in the right direction, after all." he chuckled as he sloshed through the wet grass, behind him, a large and horrifying picture of dozens upon dozens of assorted articles of clothing laid in the wet ground. A sick smile spread across his face as his red eyes glimmered in the darkness of the clouds upon the sky.

**X X X**

_Cell..._

"Perhaps there is something else on your mind?" The Illusive Man asked as a zoned out Trunks finally snapped back to reality.

"Sorry... I'm just-"

"Thinking about Cell. Yes, I understand why it can be such an interference. Nevertheless, I need you here. I have already made plans to deal with Cell, rest assured."

The Illusive Man stood up, tapping the left arm of his chair as a projection loaded up on screen. "This is your next target."

Trunks examined the man in the image carefully.

"I'll get on it."

"One more thing, Trunks." the Illusive Man interrupted, quickly dragging on his cigarette before exhaling and continuing. "All the other teams are currently being assigned different tasks. For this mission, you will be accompanying Hidan and Kakuzu."

"Right. No problem."

"Don't take this man lightly. He's made quite a name over the years, even a Saiyan such as yourself could find yourself at a disadvantage."

The Illusive Man sat back down in his chair, picking up his chilled cup, the condensation layering the glass as he took a small sip of brandy.

"After all, this is the host of the Eight-Tails."

**END!**

So yeah, I know, it's been a while since I update... and I'm VERY sorry for doing that! I got pretty pounded with shows and stuff, but I should have more free time right now, as I'm already working on the next chapter! Yay me!

I'm probably going to try and make my updating much more frequent. I don't like waiting either, so please accept my apology for all those who have added me to their alerts. =] I'll have the next one up soon. Please review, and I'll see you next time!


	9. Chapter 9

Welllllll I laid some stuff out last chapter, so we're gonna be spending a lot of time doing that. I didn't think a lot of these chapters would be as long as they are, then again covering the kind of ground I'm trying to do does that...

Oh yeah, my laptop was also off the grid for about... a while... the motherboard decided living was overrated and died on me, so I had to fork over about $300 to get it fixed. Anyway, no more problems now! Very very very sorry I haven't updated, but this time, when I say it, I mean it: updates will come quicker!

ONE THING I WANNA SAY! If at any point in the chapter you may think "Wtf? That doesn't make any sense there's no way this could happen." (Trust me you'll see what I mean in a second.) I will explain at the end of the chapter. :)

Chapter 9

_**Knock knock**_

"Enter."

The door creaked open, and Tokaku stepped inside.

"Sir." he saluted.

"At ease, I'm your brother first, remember?" said back the man standing in front of the window, facing outward.

He lowered his hand to his side and gave a small chuckle. "Right."

"How is he?"

"Just as much of a spark as he was back then."

"I see, he's still with the Akatsuki then?"

"Yes. I'm sorry, Tensei."

Tensei turned around from the window. He was an older man, like his brother Tokaku. His hair was short, combed and parted to the side, most likely to accommodate his attire. His Iwa headband and his flak jacket assumed his rank was at least Chunin, if not higher due to his age and longevity of service. His hair was graying, a dark blonde, almost brownish color, blending in with the grays of his hair. His eyes were a hard brown color, most likely build up from the years of fighting. His age was clear, but there was still a very rugged edge about this man; he could still fight with the best of them if one simply looked at him. The side of his vest had a patch that said _Iwagakure Tokusentai._

"He's always been that way. Just like his mother."

"I'll get another search out-"

"No. It's fine."

"But Tensei-"

"I have other arrangements planned. I think the Mizukage would appreciate it since less of her men are leaving the village and not coming back. Especially her hunters."

"What will you do then?"

"I'll find him myself." he sighed. "I haven't had a day off in 36 years. I've got the days built up, I'll find him and bring him back."

"But your health-"

"I know. I'm not fooling anyone, Tokaku, it will only keep going down. I'm just going to talk to him, maybe he'll listen to me." He sat down in his chair, examining the crisp and clean desk in front of him. On the left was an old picture. A gorgeous woman with dark brown hair and blue eyes sat under a tree on a bunch. In her lap was a young boy with wavy blonde hair at a medium length. Her face was lit up in happiness, as was the boy with his hands raised up high in the air.

"Go back to Kiri. I'll handle it."

Tokaku was hesitant, but he knew it was the best thing to do. Heeding his brother's wish, he bowed before exited the room and making his long journey back to his village.

(Flashback)

"Daddy, look!"

Years ago, a younger and much more stressed Tensei sat at his personal desk in his home writing a report on a mission he had completed to turn into the Tsuchikage.

"Not now, Deidara, I'm busy."

"But I drew a picture! I gave one to Mommy, and I have one for you, too."

Tensei said nothing as his mind was quickly engrossed in his work. The hours got longer, the missions were even tougher, and the Tsuchikage never accepted lateness or excuses. The pay was excellent, only if you were the best, and serving in the Iwa special forces put more time in the field, and even more off of it. The family was divided since before the child was born.

Deidara finally got right next to him, his picture held in front of his face as he held it next to his father. "Loooook!"

Finally out of frustration, Tensei turned and smacked the picture out of his son's hands, tearing the picture vertically in half. "I told you I'm busy!"

But he quickly saw the error in his decision as he turned to see his son kneeling down next to the picture. What it was, a picture of him in the middle of his mother and father, holding hands. Deidara was drawn slightly closer to his mother. What it is now, is simply one half of a picture where Deidara stood with his mother, and his father stood alone.

"Son. I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

He could never finish his sentence, as his son broke out crying at the hurt he received from the man he once looked up to. Not even a second later, he ran the way he came, leaving the picture behind in its two respective halves.

"Deidara!" he called. But he was gone.

(End Flashback)

"I wasn't a good father back then, and even now... still not." he said to himself, reacting as he heavily coughed into his hand that caught it just in time. He pulled a small cloth from the top of his desk, wiping his hands off, a slight layer of crimson laid on top of the cloth as it slowly was absorbed into the material.

_Will I even have enough time to say I'm sorry?_

**X X X**

_This place... it's so much different from the other places I've been to._ Trunks thought as he trailed behind Hidan, Kakuzu in the front as they just made their way past the border into the Land of Lightning. It was beautiful, although the greenery in the Land of Fire had it beat, its own unique geography and highland climate gave it is own appeal that was signature to every nation around it.

"Life was so different back then, I mean, now." he said out loud.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Hidan asked, turning his head to the side.

"Oh, nothing, sorry, just thinking out loud."

"Right..." he turned his head back to the front, groaning in the typical annoyance Kakuzu expected when he was going to ask for how close they were.

"Hey Kakuzu-"

"We'll be there by morning at this pace." he interrupted, already knowing what the Jashinist was going to say.

"WHAT? The morning? Fuck!" he whined. "Hey Trunks, can't you like, fly, or some wacko shit like that?"

"Huh?" Trunks glanced at him, taking his eyes from the distance he was gazing upon. "Well, yeah, but I have no idea where we're going. Besides, I'm pretty sure if we did they'd just see us."

"Which is exactly why I didn't ask you from the start." Kakuzu added in, keeping his head facing forward. "Hidan, you could learn something from him."

"Screw you, man! I was just trying to make the job easy!" he snapped back.

"We'll stop here tonight."

"What? The sun is still the fuck out!"

"Your unfamiliarity with the terrain is obvious, and equally dangerous." Kakuzu pointed out. "The forest we're approaching is known as the Forest of Vacuums."

"Why's that?" Trunks asked as the group stopped, everyone now facing each other.

"Not too long after I escaped my village and joined the Akatsuki, the Third Raikage found a clear shortcut to his village that would drop right into the heart of the city. Fearing invasion, he and the elders of the village set up a permanent jutsu that acts as a deathtrap to anyone who tries to enter."

"Well, what's it do?" Hidan asked, annoyed.

"It's quicksand. Every inch of the forest sucks in anything and anyone who touches the ground."

"Ah, that's bullshit!" he scoffed. "Sucks in anything? Why the fuck are there trees then?"

"The jutsu doesn't kill anything native to the forest. You'll see deers and birds walking through the forest, as if it were authentic. The moment you enter, however, is when the trap is sprung. It was a trap like that that made fighting Kumo so treacherous, one of the things the nations never mention because no man has made it back from it."

The three looked at the large wide gathering of trees. It seemed like any other forest, birds chirping, the patting of deer feet skipped over the grass. Nothing was wrong with this forest, if you didn't know anything about it, that is.

"We'll set up further up the hill." the masked man directed. "If we walk through the night, we'll have no time to rest once we reach Kumo itself. The jinchuriki is quite powerful."

"Yeah, yeah." Hidan mocked his partner as he laid his scythe against a tree, sitting down next to it himself. "Man, I'm beat."

Trunks sat down on the other side of the scythe, laying his head on the back of it. _Hard to believe I'm still so far back... Then again, back home isn't nearly as beautiful as it is here._

**X X X**

The next day came quickly for the three Akatsuki. Picking up an early start, food was grabbed along the way from the berries off certain bushes. After hours of walking, groaning, and complaining by Hidan, Kumogakure was finally within site.

"You have not fought a jinchuriki, have you, Trunks?" Kakuzu asked, still in the lead with his face headed forward.

"No, not that I can think of."

"Oh man, you're in for a real damn treat." Hidan added. "This guy, the Raikage's brother, he's the Eight-Tails. Real badass, he tore up four of our guys pretty badly from what I heard."

"Huh..." _How strong is he, though? It's so hard to sense powers this far back... but the Illusive Man was pretty serious when he said he could give me a hard time. But I don't want to kill him either..._ His gaze met with the back of Hidan's head, Kakuzu closely ahead of them as they crossed over a small wooden bridge. _They seem pretty intent on taking this guy back to be sealed... How can I do that without blowing my cover? These guys don't know what's going on... Great, I hate playing spy._

**X X X**

"Lord Killer B. They're here."

B sat cross legged in the direct middle of the village, his sunglasses giving him the look he may have been asleep, but this was not near the case. Since the last attack was made by Sasuke, the Raikage had greatly increased ANBU security on the borders. Lucky for him, they had seen the Akatsuki coming since the other day, giving the entire village plenty of time to evacuate to the appropriate areas.

Bowing, the Kumo Jonin quickly left, making his way back to an evacuation area to lend any aid he could to his fellow villagers.

And B... B waited.

**X X X**

The scratching sound of three sharp nails tugged through the ground as the sound grew every second, finally coming to a deaf halt. Kakuzu stood to the left of Hidan, who was in the middle, Trunks a more spaced out right.

"Look at that." Hidan started. "They went and left the poor sap right for us. Isn't that nice, guys? I guess they realized how bad we fucked up that other bimbo and didn't want us to get messy. Good call."

B sat still, letting zero emotion show. Trunks tried to feel his energy, finally hitting a stump on his level. He was strong, but not strong enough for Trunks to transform. Which was a sign of hope for him, he wasn't sure if he would even be able to do it.

_The entire village is empty._ Kakuzu thought to himself. _Kumo prided jinchuriki in their possession. It was a sign of power to them... letting one sit here like this... It's a trap._

"So what do you think, Kakuzu? Should we-"

The moment he spoke, B was gone. Too quick for him to react, the jinchuriki was already just inches away from Hidan, two swords drawn in each hand as they were held up ready to deliver a lethal blow, even for the immortal himself.

"Get down!" Trunks yelled, yanking on Hidan's sleeve as he pulled him out of the way and behind him.

The blades cut in a straight X formation, B nimbly catching himself and turning left as he swung at Kakuzu. The Akatsuki bent backwards, catching his wrist and flipping the jinchuriki over, only for the flip to work against him as B grabbed Kakuzu, tossing him away.

Before he could chase after the thread-user, a double-edged sword came mere inches from his face as B barely backflipped in time away from the sword. When he finally saw in front of him, a young man with long lavender hair stood before him, his sword glimmering in the light of the sun as his harsh blue eyes cut into him.

_I can't believe I'm saying this... Gotta play the part._ "Eight-Tails... you're mine!"

Trunks took off straight towards B, gliding across the ground as he cocked his arm back, swinging the sword with a killing swipe- but it was blocked! The jinchuriki stopped the blade with ease with one sword, taking no time as he swung into Trunks with his free arm, the Saiyan barely dodging it as he jumped back.

But B was quick to retaliate, jumping straight to Trunks as the two engaged in a lethal and agile combination of swings and hits, each one demonstrating direct precision, but not enough to break through either person's guard.

B swung his left sword to Trunks' head, which he easily blocked and parried away with his own sword, both jumping back.

_This guy's good... he definitely knows how to use his weapon, but I can't fool around with him._

"Alright!" Trunks shouted as he flew towards B, his sword ready to cut cleanly horizontally. "What do you say we get serious!-"

That was more than likely the worst time to say it. Just as Trunks was about to bring his sword into motion, he stopped.

_What... is he doing?_

Not taking the battle seriously from the looks of it, Trunks watched as B wrote down in a small pocket book, concentrating only on that.

Finally, the jinchuriki glanced up at Trunks and smirked. "I just came up with the best line I've made yet."

"The best... what?"

"YEAH! CHECK THIS OUT!" B shouted as he jumped away from Trunks, assuming an awkward pose. "Big scary lavender boy, I'm gonna play with you just like a big ol' toy. Coming into my town again with me and my shinobi brothers? You Akatsuki motha fuckas! I showed y'all once, I show y'all once plus more, cause Killer B ain't lettin' you settle NO SCORE! YEAHHHH!"

"..." Trunks was speechless as a large ball of sweat came over his head.

"Man!" Hidan yelled away from the two combatants. "No wonder this guy's so strong! He fucking sucks ass at rapping and has to devote his life to training! Boo!"

B grunted in irritation. "Listen here, dumb silver-hair boy, you think you coy, but you just a scared little boy. You think yous got sex appeal, but you just mad cause ya Jashin ain't real! OH YEAH!"

"THAT'S IT! THIS GUY IS FUCKED, MOVE, TRUNKS!"

Hidan bursted straight towards the jinchuriki, pulling his scythe back as he swung it right towards B. When the scythe came down, he was gone.

"What the hell?"

"Hidan, behind you!"

Hearing Trunks at the last second, Hidan turned around to see B's swords coming down his face in an X swipe. Just in time, he leaned back, barely dodging the swords. He countered by swinging a kick up to his face, contacting and knocking the jinchuriki back a few feet. Hidan went straight for him, swinging horizontally, only for his arm to keep going from the lack of a target to hit. B got behind Hidan again, landing a kick to the side of his head as it knocked him to the ground, knocking him out cold.

"Get up, Hidan!" Trunks called. The way he just laid there, the pain, the memories. It all flashed back to him.

_Gohan... No, Gohan. Wake up, Gohan! Gohan!_

Playing the part was over for him now. Seeing anyone down like that brought too much pain back, and if he could stop it, he would. Whatever the cost.

"Hey, big guy!" Trunks called, catching B's attention. "Why don't we pick up where we left off?"

He scoffed. "If that's what you want." at that moment, he unsheathed several other swords, five extras from his other two, giving him seven swords at his disposal in... interesting positions. He held his seven blades in between his left armpit and both of his elbows, right leg, stomach, the right side of his neck, and in his mouth.

Trunks couldn't take him seriously. It just looked awkward as B stood there with the swords held. "I'll give you a taste of my hook."

The moment was gone, and so was B. _What the?-_ Trunks panicked as he sensed his energy at the last minute, right to his left. He ducked from the first swipe, only to roll back from a lower blade swinging at him. Using his one sword as primarily defense, Trunks had little time to plan for any countering attack as B left no opening. _This guy. I don't get how he's using all of those swords as well as he is. Okay, I gotta step it up. Just can't-_ he was cut off as one of B's swords cut across his Akatsuki robe, the tip dragging through his shirt and over the top of his stomach as it left a jagged line of traumatized skin. Blood drizzled from the wound on the spot, and the sting was more than the Saiyan was expecting as he jumped back away from the jinchuriki.

_Damn. That actually... hurt._ he grabbed the collar of his robe and took it off, letting it hit the ground so he could better examine the wound. It had definitely cut through the skin, though it wasn't a deep slash, it had hit a key area that let a lot of blood out. _And he's got seven of them. Okay, this might be my only chance, but I gotta try and transform. I know I can take him out then._

"I think it's time I stopped playing around." Trunks said, tossing his sword to the ground and gripping his fists at his side. "You ready?" his eyes cut into the jinchuriki as he still held the swords, giving no sign of backing down.

Trunks gripped his fists to their maximum as he shouted out, his energy drastically shooting up, further and further, even further than when he fought Cell, and then, he transformed, with no problems like the last time.

It was a shock to B, no doubt. His hair was standing up and going in every direction, a golden color now, and his eyes had turned green. He looked like an entirely different person, almost divine from the golden aura that cloaked around his body.

But before a new course of action could be taken, Trunks was gone when B's eyes had finished blinking. A hot knee in his back told him where his attacker had come from, though it was far too late to do anything about it. The attack knocked every sword away from the jinchuriki as he shouted in pain, knocked several feet away from where Trunks had hit him.

Trunks gave chase immediately after he saw B fly off. Taking flight, he shot right above him, balling his fists as he slammed them into B.

But that was where the trap was sprung. As the balled fists connected, B's body puffed up in a cloud of smoke, turning into a small log of wood, completely baffling the Saiyan.

_A log? Wait, then where is he?_

He turned quickly when he felt a huge power flare up. Up above him diagonally on the side of a rocky outcrop stood B, but something was different about him. He had produced a red aura around him, and what seemed like several tails hanging around him. Something was definitely different about him, aside from the tremendous energy emitting from him. He seemed more... feral.

_That's insane! His energy shot through the roof! Have there always been people this strong, even back thousands of years ago?_

There was no more time to think to himself as B charged at Trunks with an incredible amount of speed. Trunks cursed himself for not being 100% on guard after noticing the transformation. B kept his right arm held out straight as Trunks was unable to get his guard up in time, and slammed it right into his face.

"Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee! Cause I'm the Eight-Tailed beast with that attack attack, that Lariat!"

The force of the attack was astounding. Trunks was shot like a bullet right out of a gun, crashing through a tall formation of rock and exiting right out of the other side as other crashes could be heard, but he could not be seen until it finally subsided.

_Good. Looks like another one hitter from my never-misser. Yeah!_

_**B.**_ the ox interrupted. **_He's coming back, keep your guard up!_**

_What?_

A second later, the formation of rock Trunks was shot through exploded, as the sky rained chunks of pebbles as the Saiyan shot out and straight towards B with a slightly bloody forehead, his left strap on his tank top had been ripped apart, hanging down his chest.

_**Here he comes!**_ _I know!_

Trunks shot a right hook forward, caught by B and used against him as the jinchuriki spun him and tossed him away. Trunks backflipped and flew directly to him, the speed to great to dodge as one of his fists collided right into B's gut, lightly splotching the Saiyan's forearm with blood coughed up from the Raikage's brother. He caught his breath quickly as he balled his fists up, slamming it down into the back of Trunks' head, though it connected, it didn't move him. He slammed again, nothing, thrice, nothing, but finally the fourth time, his fists came down, but the Saiyan had disappeared.

_What? Where'd he go? He's faster than A, need to get some focus on this hocus pocus._

The cutting of air tipped him off as he turned with his left arm, connecting it with one of Trunks' fists. Without a moment to recollect what had happened, the two joined into a flurry of lightning-fast kicks and punches. The mix of gold and red was beautiful to be seen from a distance, but the danger from the power of each made these colors rather fearful when you knew the ones who wielded such might.

**X X X**

"Achoo!"

"I think someone's talking about you, senpai." said Tobi.

Deidara scoffed, disregarding the sneeze as nothing more than allergies, or dust in the air perhaps. "I don't get this. We're just supposed to find a couple of abandoned outposts near Ame. When did we turn into a search party?"

"Gee, senpai, I thought you might like this. We don't have to search for jinchuriki so much anymore. I think Hidan's group is going to get the Eight-Tails, and then all that leaves is Naruto, and we're done!" then, Tobi gasped. "Wait! That means we may not work together anymore! What if the Akatsuki is disbanded after we seal up all the jinchuriki?-"

"Who cares, good riddance to the Akatsuki, yeah. Sooner we finish this the sooner..."

"Senpai?"

_...Where would I even go?_ Deidara thought. The idea of not being tied with the Akatsuki anymore, without being held to a group he was forced to join thrilled him. It was just not having an end to his means. When he left, where would he go?

_Do I really not have a home anymore besides this place? Shit, who am I kidding, I'll probably end up doing the same stuff I did before._

"Yoooooohooooo!"

"Huh?" he blinked. "Oh. Sorry, Tobi. It's nothing, don't worry about it, yeah." he held his arm out, stopping Tobi and evening himself. "Check it out."

It didn't seem like they had been walking for a very long time. But when they finally stood still long enough to examine their surroundings, they could tell they were nowhere near home anymore. The ground was soaked, clearly still in runoff, and sets of clothes laid wet and scattered around the ground going from the center of the ground to some areas of the trees to the sides.

"What... is this?" he asked, honestly horrified at what he saw. With each set of clothes was a very large hole piercing through it. Some in the shirts, in the center, or in the arm. Some in the legs of the pants. A cane was laid next to one pair of clothes, as well.

"Is this what Zetsu told us to check out? Why?" he asked out loud.

"If someone does this to people, senpai, then what if they do it to the last two jinchurikis?" Tobi replied.

"I guess that makes sense, yeah."

**X X X**

"Lady Tsunade. The reports are here."

Shizune stepped to the Hokage's desk and places a rather filled folder on her desk and she watched the Hokage open it and pull out different assortments of papers, photos, and small articles of clothing. In silence she waited for a few minutes as Tsunade skimmed through the reports, glancing at the pictures and pieces of clothing for a second and returning to the papers.

"So this, "thing," calls himself Cell." she stated out loud, holding up a piece of a shirt. "And it feeds on people by piercing them with his tail."

"Gaara also mentioned his ability to regenerate body parts and reconstruct himself from any serious injuries."

"Yes, I see that, there was mention of Gaara trapping him and constricting him..."

The room was filled with an awkward silence. Tsunade stared at the reports, memorized them completely by now. Shizune sensed tension behind the Hokage's eyes but decided against asking; the answer was obvious.

"I don't know what to do."

"What?"

Tsunade stood up, carefully lining the papers up and back into the folder. "The biggest threat on the planet is running loose in the streets of the Five Nations, and I don't have a damn clue on where to start."

"Don't say that, we can think of-"

"No, we can't." she spat. "I'm sorry. I need to be alone."

Shizune nodded. "Yes ma'am."

The door shut behind the assistant and Tsunade sat back down, rubbing her temples in deep thought. Nothing like this had shaken her up so much, knowing that little by little...

"Everyone is dying."

**X X X**

"I'm not doing this because I think you are right," the Hokage started. Far underneath the level of the village, in a darker, clamier section where the sub-section of the ANBU resided. "I'm here because I have nothing else at my disposal to deal with this. None without taking away from the village's defense in case Cell does come here."

The man kneeling in front of her kept his back to her. As he rose, he picked up his cane. A simple stick of wood with a plain handle to keep his balance. He turned back to face her, only one eye facing her, that one eye bursting with the lust for power. Hearing the Hokage beg for his help was the greatest feeling outside of becoming the Hokage himself. He was going to savor this moment.

"I see." was his simple reply. "And you believe that _I_ have the capability to put a stop to this threat?"

"I don't know what I believe right now." she quickly shot back. "The only thing I know is less than 5% of the population of Suna is staying here in the village while who knows how many people are dying by the second. If something isn't done, ALL of us will pay for it."

The wrinkles on his face furrowed with his eyebrows. It was a logical statement, he even admitted.

"Danzo." she quietly said. "Please. I don't know what else we can do."

"Indeed. This is frustration I can understand, as it affects us all, Konoha is as big a target as Suna was."

"You want something." she spewed.

"What is important will be stopping this threat. The reward in itself will be knowing who stopped it, and how soon." the light clank of his cane tapped the stone floor as he stepped by the Hokage. "It shall be taken care of. You needn't fear."

A cold chill ran down her spine. What she had done, she had never thought she would do.

_Making a deal with the devil..._

**X X X**

Though Kumo was indeed quiet _looking_ from the lack of people interacting, the crashing of punches and shaking of ground amplified every few seconds, discrediting the peaceful scenary.

Hidan rose up from the ground, rubbing the side of his head with a loud groan of annoyance. "Fuck! What happened?"

His next thought failed to register as a large body crashed right next to him, erupting the ground next to him as he covered his face with his sleeve to avoid debris hitting it.

A small tinted red aura could be seen in the ground. Before Hidan could look down at it, Trunks came throwing down a kick into the earth, and that small color of red vanished. The Saiyan turned his head to search for him, completely unaware of Hidan waking up.

In a blind flash, Trunks ducked his head as B's foot came inches from knocking his head off. In the same movement he spun himself around, tripping the jinchuriki over and delivering a hard kick into his back in an upward motion. The cracking sound from his back bones could be heard, but then, a quick puff of smoke enveloped the body as a small log dropped to the ground.

"That again?" he growled. "There!"

B's fist came within earshot of hitting Trunks as he afterimaged away, his momentum carried him a few steps forward, still completely unaware that a silver-haired Jashinist was watching them in complete shock.

Reappearing behind B, Trunks swung a hard kick into the side of the jinchuriki, only to be met by another substitution jutsu.

"Damn it! Quit it!" he yelled.

Trunks had a difficult time feeling his energy. It was very large, no doubt, but it was a different type of energy. Finally, at the last second, he felt something to his left. He turned and swung his fist forward, knocking B flat on his back, only for it to turn into another log again.

"What is it with this guy and logs?" he growled.

Before he could react, Trunks could only turn to see a full extended leg inches from his face. He attempted to duck, but he was too late. The leg connected right into Trunks' temple, knocking him straight to the ground and out of consciousness. His golden and spiky hair receded, falling back to its loose lavender length.

"Oh shit!" Hidan yelled. "That ain't good. New guy's out." But then his eyes twitched. Of course, something was missing from this picture. "Where the hell is Kakuzu?"

B turned and faced Hidan, their eyes in a deadlock as he held his scythe in a defensive position, ready to fight if the jinchuriki came for him, even though he felt it would do little good after seeing what he was doing just a moment.

"You want some, big guy?" Hidan taunted. "Come on, you ain't shit. I already bagged one of you guys by myself, and she was completely transformed. You better take me seriously if you want to stand a chance against me."

He was clearly bluffing, and he was almost sure B saw through it. Immortality was a nice perk, but that wouldn't help him at all if he couldn't hit him. He needed to get a close attack and get some of his blood.

_Okay, time to actually think. Trunks is out, and Kakuzu's probably taking a shit. This guy's fast, strong, and nimble as hell... So how do I get this guy... Got it!_

"All right, let's go! I'm 1-0 for jinchuriki's on my personal record."

B smirked. He took a small squatting position and charged straight for him, his speed near frightening as within less than a second he was almost right in front of Hidan with a fist cocked back, ready to slam into him.

And that's when the trap was sprung. Not Hidan's trap, however. Out of the ground, dozens of thick black threads shot up and grabbed B at every major limb, completely bringing him to a stand still. Right after, a familiar Akatsuki member launched out of the earth himself, his forearms and hands non existent as they funneled through the ground below him to hold the jinchuriki in place. He gave a quick kick upwards on B's chin, immediately following a roundhouse to the back side of his head, harshly snapping his head to the side and knocking him out.

B fell to the ground as the threads holding him receded and re-joined to Kakuzu, his arms connecting back as well.

"That distraction was just what I needed, Hidan."

"WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU?"

"Planning. I could not effectively attack him while he and Trunks fought. They were too fast, and their constant movement made a precise grip difficult. When you stalled him, I had time to launch my attack."

"I guess. Look, just don't scare me like that, okay? Seriously, man, that was cool and all, but you've got a bad habit of just taking off."

"Yes, I can see you are a man who has no bad habits himself."

"Fuck you."

Kakuzu looked down at the unconscious bodies in front of them. He was sure B wasn't dead, but he could not assure the same for Trunks. He stepped over to the Saiyan and held his fingers to his neck to feel for a pulse.

"He alright?" Hidan asked.

"He's alive."

"Phew. Alright, let's get the hell out of here before someone sees us."

"Indeed." he replied, walking back towards B. "Carry Trunks."

"What? Why me?"

"Trunks is light."

"Hey, screw you, man, I'm not weak."

"Carry the jinchuriki, then." Kakuzu replied, crossing his arms.

Hidan grunted as he dragged his feet past his partner to where the Saiyan laid unconscious, slumping him over onto his shoulder. "You know, I enjoy a good workout, but this isn't what I really would call dignified."

"Indeed? You had no quarrel carrying the last jinchuriki."

"Well, fuck! She was half Trunks' weight and a hell of a lot hotter!"

The small bickering and showers of explicates coming from solely Hidan continued as the two partners picked up the respective people and quickly left the evacuated village.

**X X X**

"All day long, nothing but paperwork." Sakura groaned to herself as she filed through a heavy stack of temporary residential forms. It was complete chaos at the hospital. Registration was slow and tedious, since most records were left behind in Suna and it was declared forbidden anyone, even the Kazekage to go back, complete re-entries were needed into Konoha's system. Something only Sakura was on duty for, as the other doctors were attending basic medical screenings.

_**Knock Knock**_

"Dr. Inuzuka?" said a voice on the outside of the door.

"What is it?" she called back, flipping through more files and keeping her attention to it.

The door then opened, as Kiyosato pushed his way past the nurse into his mother's office.

"Kiyosato? What are you doing here?"

"Sorry, Mom. The spare key's gone. Can I get yours?"

"Are you actually going to be home to unlock it when I get off?"

"Yeah, I should." he replied, taking the key from his mother and whirling it around before placing it in his pocket. "Hey, have you seen Salayna lately? I haven't seen her in a few days."

"She had another mission almost right after she got back. I saw her for a little bit. I'll be home later tonight to cook dinner."

"Oh!... Yeah, that's okay, Mom!"

"What's okay? You don't like my cooking?" she asked, annoyed.

"No!... No it's not that, I just, uh, I gotta go. Bye, Mom!"

"Arf!"

Sakura rolled her eyes as her son shot out the door past her assistant and out of the hospital, returning to her work.

**X X X**

This was the first mission Salayna had gone without a sensei. It didn't bother her, since her brother's friends were all on her team. Shinta and Natsuko made for an entertaining group when the fighting had always stopped. They each heavily resembled their fathers in terms of personality, making her wonder how they were when _they_ were younger themselves.

She walked behind them with her hands in her father's old jacket pockets as the two boys argued with each other over the upcoming mission.

"You know, Shinta, you're a real stick in the mud!" whined Natsuko. "If we follow your plan that way, it'll take us forever to catch up with those bandits. We might not even catch them before they reach the borders out of the Land of Fire!"

"Time is not entirely against us. Keeping at this steady pace will make sure we're in better condition to face the enemy when we come across them."

"_If_ we come across them! Why does granny even put you in charge? You're so slow and by the book!"

"Natsuko." Shinta stopped, getting directly in his face. "_I'm_ the leader. You _will_ do as I say, because I'm responsible for you and Salayna." he stoically said.

His sunglasses pierced into his own eyes. He could tell Shinta was being serious, so he just gulped and nodded his head. "Yeah, yeah no problem."

"Good." he turned around, pulling out a piece of paper and writing something down on it before handing it back to him. "We'll stop here tonight. Here's a list of things you need to get."

"What? We're stopping? It's still daylight-"

"_I'm_ the leader, Natsuko. Did you forget that already?"

He grunted as he side-stepped away and walked into the forest next to them. As he entered the woods, he read the "list" carefully.

_We're being followed. The bandits sent a scouting party to check for shinobi who may be after them. I said everything on purpose so we can draw the enemy out quicker and catch up. Oh, and bring some firewood back._

"Pfft, firewood." he said, his stomach growling right after. "Then again, that's probably the best idea. I'm starving."

**X X X**

"Gunpowder." Salayna said quietly to herself.

"Yes." Shinta replied. They nodded to each other as they jumped up and away diagonally in opposite directions as a paper bomb went off.

"We're being followed?" she asked as she landed down.

Shinta landed right after. "Yes. Have been all day. I guess they finally decided we were getting too close. This isn't a bad sign, it means if nothing else, we're catching up."

"Is that so?" said a voice that dropped down in the middle of them. A tall, built, rogue shinobi with messy brown hair stood facing the Aburame Hyuga mix. "You seem to have it all figured out, don't you?"

"Why else would you be coming for us as quickly as you are?" Salayna asked from behind.

"Tch. You kids are a little bit more than naive, you know that?" he linked his hands together, popping his fingers as he rolled his neck as well. "The boss didn't send me after you guys because you got too close. He sent me because we're already out of the Land of Fire. Exterminating you? Well, that's just my bonus for a job well done, you see."

Shinta said nothing, even his stance was a cool and collected one, not a care in the world. "You seem very confident."

"There's no reason not to be, kid, trust me. You have a loud-mouth pipsqueak and an Inuzuka with no nin-dog. You're probably the strongest one, so once I finish you, it'll be easy pickings for the next two."

"I see." Shinta replied. "Then I assume you already know what my next move is, since you've taken the time to analyze my teammates?"

"Ha. What's not to analyze? You're an Aburame, unpredictably predictable. No, see, I've already taken care of any problems I may have with the kikaichu. I have a certain spray, a spray one of the more well-known Aburame's developed years ago. It's a repellent that drives insects, especially kikaichu beetles away from it."

"That spray." Shinta said. "It's very rare to come across, since it is a family secret. Only members of the Aburame are found to be carrying it, if at all."

"That's true. I helped myself to a few bottles before we broke away from Konoha. The boss and others sprayed themselves down plenty, so your bugs you sent after us, which I know you did, are scattered across the ground. Dead."

"Indeed." he replied. "It's impressive you thought this through and planned it out. My father would have loved to have fought you. He always wants to fight someone strong."

"Heh, don't flatter me, kid. Maybe I will someday after I'm finished with you."

"You misunderstand me." he held his fingers up to his sunglasses. "You won't be fighting my father, or anyone else. Because I'm going to kill you."

"What? Are you nuts, buster? How's an Aburame gonna fight me when he can't use his little beetles?"

"Who said I was going to use my beetles?"

"What?"

The sides of Shinta's eyes tightened as several veins popped out from under the skin. A thin wave of air cut across the bandit's face.

"What the... No way. You mean you're-"

"Half Hyuga." Shinta said. "You failed to notice the robes. And my hair is not exactly following Aburame style, either."

"That won't make a difference! I'm still gonna carve you open, bug boy, and take those Byakugans for myself! Agghhh!" he yelled as he charged straight for Shinta, unsheathing a katana as he prepared to slash it across him. The blade connected, cutting deep down from the side of the neck into the upper area of the stomach.

"Shinta!" Salayna gasped.

"Heh. Easy. Just another silent-talking wannabe tough guy." said the bandit. "Hey, what the?-" he yelled as the body began to give a loud buzzing sound, dissolving into a giant pile of beetles.

"But, that spray!-"

"Does not work with kikaichu beetles that are from the same hive as the creator. My father, for example."

"No! No wait!" he panicked as he backed away from Shinta, who was right behind him.

Not a second later, a painfully accurate punch was delivered to the stomach of the bandit, followed by another in the same area, knocking him back.

"Two palms." said Shinta.

He spun around, delivering four separate hits this time. "Four palms."

Now working on his face, Shinta sprayed eight more fists from the top of his forehead to the top of his chest. "Eight palms."

Salayna had never seen this kind of brutality from Shinta before. He was normally very quick when he took his enemies down, but this time... something was different. He was angry, wild.

"Sixty-four palms!" he shouted, spraying his fists across the body of the bandit in non-discriminated areas.

"Shinta!" she called to him.

"One hundred twenty-eight palms!" again, pulverizing the bandit's body as sprays of blood began to come off of him and stain parts of his robes.

"Shinta! Stop it!"

"Two-hundred fifty-six palms!" came an unexpected shout from the Aburame mix as he volleyed his last attack, the final sets of punches literally destroying entire organs from the inside of the bandit's body as the final punch knocked him down to his back, completely devoid of anymore life.

Shinta huffed, exhausted from his attack. It was the first time he had attempted that high of tier in attacks. The front of his hair stuck to his forehead as he wiped it away, placing it behind his ears.

"Shinta!" Salayna called to him, running up to him and getting in front. "What's the matter with you? Why did you keep attacking? He was already dead after sixty-four!"

"I couldn't take the risk." he replied.

"Risk of what? He was dead!" she yelled.

"Do you have any idea what they've stolen, Salayna?" he shot back. "Or for that matter, who hired them?"

"What did they steal that was so important you had to go into mass-overkill?"

"Documents. Scrolls on forbidden jutsus, along with detailed journals of the user's feelings and after-effects once he or she has used the jutsu. Taking important information like this would make anyone able to counter the strongest shinobi, even develop stronger ones of their own." he leaned his face in, his pure white eyes could be barely seen behind his dark glasses. "That, Salayna, is why I went into _mass-overkill_. I'm not letting one bandit risk us loosing information that could jeopardize the safety of the village."

She said nothing, but backed away slowly with her head slanted down. He was right, he was always right, even if he was at times harsh about it.

A rustling of shrubs and breaking of twigs interrupted their discussion as Natsuko stepped through with a high pile of firewood.

"Hey, guys! What'd I miss?" he asked, looking around to see a dead bandit laying on his back. "Hey, you were right, Shinta. They were following us, after all."

"Indeed." he replied. "I'm not sure what he said was true, but drop the firewood. We should continue forward. Once they step out of the borders, there's no telling if we'll ever see those files again."

"Now you're talking!" Natsuko cheered, dropping the wood and heading over to them as they continued down the pathway they had originally started from.

**X X X**

Not even an hour later, a small stream of smoke could be seen off in the distance. Shinta stopped the group.

"Hold on. I don't have a good feeling about this. Byakugan!"

His eyes took him ahead to where the smoke was. A small passenger wagon laid tilted over on its side, one of the wheels had fallen off. On the ground laid five rogue shinobi, the bandits they had been searching for. Only, something was very off about this scene.

"Let's go." he said, turning his kekkei genkai off. "But be careful. Something isn't right."

**X X X**

When they arrived, the three teenagers were in complete shock at what they saw. The bodies of the shinobis, the bandits, they were gone. Out of their clothes. No bodies, only articles of clothing and a wagon that was still on fire.

"What... what happened?" Natsuko asked.

Shinta stepped forward and examined the bodies of the bandits, or rather, lack of bodies. Everything laid perfectly together. The vests were zipped up, the shirts were tucked in, even undergarments and other small items were fasted and tucked away. It was almost as if... they were sucked right out of their clothes.

_This smell..._ Salayna thought to herself. _There was a fight. But whoever won had overwhelmed them, the scent is everywhere._

"Let's find the files first." he said, standing up. "Salayna."

"They should be..." she held her breath, concentrating for a moment. "Under that guy." she pointed to one of the piles of clothes furthest from the group.

Natsuko, being the closest, lifted the shirt up from the ground and found a manilla folder right underneath it. He took it, and let the shirt fall back down, not before noticing a decent sized hole in the back of it.

"Hey, Shinta." he said. "I found the files... but take a look at this."

"I know." he replied, walking up to him and taking the folder. "They all have it."

"What do you think did it?"

"I'm not sure. But something happened here. Let's put this fire out and get back to the Hokage... I have a bad feeling being here right now."

"Yeah. Let's go."

After taking some dirt from the fireplace of the camp, the shinobi put the fire out, leaving the area and the piles of clothes behind just as quickly as they came.

**X X X**

"**We weren't able to retrieve the actual copy for risk of any sort of suspicion.**" said Zetsu. "_However, we were able to duplicate it down to the same ink._"

"I see." said the Illusive Man. "Then it was still a success. Good work. Please, take this down to Sasori. He'll have more use for it than I will."

"Understood." he replied.

As the plant-man stepped off, he carefully made his way through the Akatsuki headquarters, making sure to not wake any of the members up. As he came through the door into the back yard, he ended on a small patch of grass in the corner, and slowly, descended into it.

When he came through, he stepped into a heavily fortified scientific laboratory. The walls, tables, the door for entry was completely white. It was clear the Illusive Man provided well for those who worked for him, as an active Sasori worked from table to table, taking notes and carefully mixing different liquids together.

Zetsu stepped through the door into a small room with another door at the end. When the first door closed, a quick beep was heard, followed by a spray of air, lightly tickling his nose.

"_Decontamination complete. Welcome._" said the computer as the door opened.

Sasori turned his attention to Zetsu as he just entered. "What is it?"

"The other piece to the formula."

Sasori took the folder and opened it up, flipping through the assorted pages.

"Thank you. This still isn't enough, but it will help."

"**I see.** _Hey, Sasori. What else do you need?_"

"Right now there's nothing I need. Soon, though, I'm going to need dead tissue and DNA from said dead person to test the serum. That will take some time, though, before I come to that stage."

"**Understood.** **We will leave you then.** _Bye, Sasori!_"

**X X X**

"I FUCKING HATE TREES, YOU HEAR ME?"

Trunks groaned as he rubbed his head, cold sweat sticking his tank top to his back as he sat up. "What's going on?" he asked himself.

The sliding door to the backyard was open. There he saw Hidan, kicking a big log across the yard in frustration as he shouted incoherently in what seemed to be another language, though he just assumed it was more explicates. No one he had ever met had cursed that much.

"_Hey, you're awake!_"

Trunks looked to his side to see Zetsu standing on the other side of the living room. "_How are you feeling?_ **You were unconscious for several hours, including the entire night, but you should be fine now.**"

"Okay, I guess... my head's killing me, though." he rubbed it still. "Hey, what happened?"

"_Oh, well, there's bad news, and then there's worse news!_ **The Eight-Tails knocked you out during your fight. Kakuzu was able to incapacitate him, however, it was all a very drawn out substitution jutsu. He just now released it.**"

Trunks sighed. But was happy, still. He didn't want anything bad to honestly happen, and his father's side gave him that stimulation of fighting a very strong opponent. If nothing else, it was a victory to him.

**END!**

Okay. For those of you who might be thinking "Wtf? How does B beat Mirai Trunks? Let me explain. Two things:

First, the Illusive Man still has a cap on Trunks' full power. He was able to transform this time without much trouble, but that was about it.

Two, even though B is very strong already in his version 1 form, this takes place fifteen years after Shippuden. That's a lotttt of time to train, and I honestly believe the fighting was very even, and B was able to control that last attack to knock Trunks out due to his discipline in training and years upon years of experience. No dis on Trunks, at all, just saying, anyone who had doubt, that's my reasoning. But don't worry, we haven't seen the cap on either of these two, especially with Trunks. ;)

Anyway, like I said, I'm pretty much the worst author ever to leave you guys hanging. Super duper sorry about that, but, laptop is back, I am back, and the story will get its updates much more often. This is hopefully the last time something like this happens, if anything else comes up, I'll be sure to leave some type of notice. Check my profile if I haven't updated in some time (Like, 2 weeks or so. That's a super long time to me.) and I should have something there. Anyway, hope you liked. Please review, and I'll see you next time!


	10. Chapter 10

Hey hey. Hope you liked the last chapter. As you can see, things are starting to work their way up. The only question is... when will everything get out of control? I don't even know, and I'm writing it! =P

Chapter 10

"Haha! And it was funny because every time he got ready to attack, he always did these _wacky_ poses. Like they were supposed to pump him up or something." Goku laughed across the table from Kiba's long dead father.

"Was he at least strong?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah, he was really good. But when I actually got serious he sort of freaked out. He even used a body changing technique and took control of me. I'm telling you, I've been through some _crazy_ stuff, but that had to have been the weirdest one of all."

The late Kiyosato glanced down at his deceased companion, shrugging his shoulders as he continued eating.

"So tell me again what happened?" Goku asked.

"About what?"

"You know, how you died."

"Long story short, my sensei was murdered. We thought it was a suicide, turns out, he was attacked and it made it seem like it was suicide, when in fact, the autopsy proved otherwise. Anyway, I stole documents that gave me a lead, went after him, thought I killed him, but I ended up dying that day."

A wave of awkwardness lingered over the table in otherworld as Kiyosato stared down into his ramen bowl.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"It's no big deal. I made peace with everyone I needed to." Kiyosato smiled, happy he could at least move on from purgatory. "What about you? Did you make peace with everyone?"

"Well, sort of. I mean, I didn't really get the chance to do that. See, I only had enough time to say goodbye to my friends and my son before Cell blew himself up. I never really got a chance to say goodbye to my wife... and from what King Kai told me, she just had another boy."

"That's never easy." he replied. "Hana was only three, Kiba couldn't even walk when I died."

"Aye ya both sound like a couple'a jackasses! Sobbin' over what happened when ya died. 'S not that bad, y'know. We all did a lot of good, we did. Nothin' ta be ashamed of." Tomomaru spoke up from underneath the table.

"Yeah, I guess not." Goku replied, leaning back in his chair. "Still, it would be nice to-"

The door opened from the outside, and in stepped King Kai. "I see you boys have cleaned your plates." he started, mountains of plates and bowls and trays scattered across the table. "That's good, because I've got some not so good news for the both of you."

"What's wrong?" Kiyosato asked.

King Kai shook his head. "Come on. We better go outside for this."

The shinobi and the Saiyan looked at each other before getting up and following the short man outside.

Outside, King Kai stepped a good distance and finally ended under a tree. "Alright, then. I've got good news, bad news, and _really_ bad news. What do you want to hear first?"

"Doesn't matter to me." said Kiyosato. "The mood's gonna run pretty sour once we start hearing bad stuff. Might as well start with the good."

"Yeah." Goku replied. "Start with the good, King Kai."

King Kai cleared his throat. "I see. Okay. The good news is that, Goku, Trunks is safe. He's doing fairly well for himself, and the Dragon Balls are fine, too, and operational."

"That's good." Goku said with a straight face. "So what's the bad and badder news?"

"The bad news," King Kai turned to Kiyosato. "The wish used with the Dragon Balls was to revive a criminal organization. The name _Akatsuki_ familiar to you?"

"!" Kiyosato choked. "What? They're all back? How?"

"Yeah that doesn't sit well with me, King Kai." Goku said. "Weren't those guys dead for a really long time? Shenron can't wish people back who have been dead for more than a year."

"That's true, Goku. But because the Dragon Balls broke universal law and crossed into another realm of time, the rules changed at random. We have no control over it, not even the Kais can stop that from happening."

"And that's not even the worst news." Kiyosato gritted his teeth. "What's the worst of it?"

King Kai sighed, he knew both of them weren't going to like this. "Cell, is also there in that time with Trunks."

"WHAT?" Goku shouted. "That's impossible! Cell?"

"How?" Kiyosato asked. "I thought you said your son killed him?"

"It's complicated, Goku, but that's not the same Cell Gohan defeated. This is the one from Trunks' actual time. Apparently after Trunks had defeated the androids he went and confronted Cell, yet he somehow survived and hitched a ride in his time machine and ended up here."

"But then that means he's still in his first form, right?" Goku asked.

King Kai nodded his head. "Right. And that's probably the worst part. That time is completely unprepared. Only a small amount of people even have a chance against someone like Cell, and most of them are with the Akatsuki."

"Wait, but what about Trunks? Cell would be no match for him at this point if he's in his first form!"

"Yes, Goku, I know, and they did fight. However, Cell got away when he knew he was going to lose. Trunks hasn't been able to track him down; he keeps his energy suppressed."

Goku clenched his fists together in frustration. Another Cell, in the past. It was like a buffet to the monster, and the only person who could stop him can't find him.

"Hey, can someone tell me what's going on?" Kiyosato asked. "Like for example who this Cell guy is? You've only mentioned him to me a few times, Goku, but never really gave me any details."

"Well, he's obviously bad news." King Kai started. "But the best way is if I show you." he turned around. "Go ahead."

The late father nodded his head and stepped up behind the Kai's back. He placed his hand on his back and closed his eyes, opening his mind to what he was about to see.

The scene immediately turned to the main streets of Suna. Open, intact, and deserted. Hundreds of piles of clothes were laid across the roads, then a flash to when they were still populated. People fleeing for their lives, shinobi attacking what looked like a giant green bug-man, doing little to no damage at all as the creature pierced them with its tail, sucking them right from their clothes. Slowly each person went from skin, to paste, to nothing.

That's when everything disappeared. A black screen was all that was seen. Then, eyes. Glowing, evil red eyes stared into him as Cell's body formed with its insidious laugh following. The murderous tail shooting directly for him.

"Gah!" Kiyosato backed up, opening his eyes, relieved he was back in reality. "King Kai, I know it's been a while, but that village seemed so familiar. Like I've been there."

"Yes, that's right. That's Sunagakure, modern days it has become known as West City, but that is where Cell made his first major mark."

"Dammit... those people."

"I know how you feel, Kiyosato." Goku said. "We went through the exact same thing in our time. Cell's bent on doing nothing but absorbing people and becoming complete."

"But because Trunks destroyed 17 and 18, and since they're thousands of years before Dr. Gero even existed, there's no possibility of that happening. For all we know, he might end up killing Dr. Gero's ancestor, and making the possibility of his existence impossible." King Kai added in. "Therefore, Cell will continue to consume until the entire world is empty."

"But that would completely destroy the present, and the future, and... I don't really get this." Kiyosato rubbed his head. "I mean, wouldn't it?"

"I'm not sure." King Kai said. "It would without a doubt cease any movement from that time. But because the present and future already occurred, taking those generations out would completely destroy the balance of time itself. Not even the Grand Kai could stop that."

"Ugh!" Goku groaned. "Cell doesn't even realize that if he keeps this up, there won't be _anything_ left period! Even he won't survive if he collapses everything!"

"Hey, wait a second." Kiyosato started. "Didn't you say those Dragon Balls or whatever only used one wish? Why can't Trunks just use the other wish to bring everyone back?"

"That would appear to be the logical decision." King Kai interrupted. "However, bringing those people back would still give Cell the chance to re-absorb them. Using the Dragon Balls now would be almost a complete waste unless Cell is stopped. And, let's not forget, the Dragon Balls are foreign to this realm of time. If the last wish is used, there's no telling if they would be spread across the world, or if they would be destroyed, or if they would go back to their original time. There are too many x-factors to consider at the moment."

There was a brief pause in conversation. Each person thought, until Goku finally spoke up. "Hey, King Kai! Why not let me talk to Trunks?"

"Oh. Right, you could, but I don't think it would change much; he already knows what's going on."

"Hm." he thought. "Well... What can we do?"

"You mean us dead guys? Nothing really, sad to say. All we can really do is watch and- Hey, Kiyosato what are you doing?" he yelped as the late father put his hand on his back again.

"Making a collect call, excuse me." he said, closing his eyes as he focused. _"Kiba!"_

**X X X**

The hot water ran through Kiba's hair as he let himself relax. Nothing happened, and it all felt too slow for him today. He had the entire house to himself, which normally doesn't happen very often. More times than not, one of the kids stays home on an off day, and Sakura is rarely home during the week. He felt bad, knowing she was buried under a mess of work. He didn't really hold anything against her when she came home tired and often times more crankier than usual.

Finally finishing, he stepped out and grabbed a towel off the rack. He rubbed his hair down, following the rest of his body, then wrapped the towel around his waist. He stretched and yawned as he stepped into the bedroom from which the bathroom was connected. It was a really nice day out.

"_Kiba!"_

Kiba jumped and put his back to the wall, raising his hands up. He heard something, someone, calling his name.

"Who's there?" he asked, working his nose around his house. Nothing was different, everything smelt the same and he couldn't even smell anyone on the outside. "Come on out, whoever you are. You picked the wrong house to break into!"

"_Kiba." _saidthe voice again. "_Don't worry, it's me."_

"Me?" he asked. "Me who?" he thought about it for a second. The voice... it was so familiar to him, but it was somewhat filtered. Like there was a small echo.

"Wait a second!" it hit him. "Dad? Is that you?"

"_Yes, son, it's me. I'm talking to you from otherworld right now."_

"Other what? Dad, what's going on?"

"_I'll tell you later. Listen, I've been hearing about what's going on down there, and I've been hearing some bad stuff."_

"Yeah, the Akatsuki, and that new guy they've got with them are bad news."

"_No, son. That's not even the problem. The problem with Suna all of a sudden taking refuge in your village, it's-"_

"Some sort of illness that hit the village, right? That's what everyone's been saying."

"_No... not even close, although if it's to keep the peace I can see why they did that. Listen, it's not a disease, it's a person. A "thing" that has literally eaten away everything it comes across."_

"What? What do you mean it eats away everything?"

"_It has a tail, and it uses that tail to suck people out of their clothes. Anyone who has encountered him and survived are forbidden to speak of it, I imagine. Listen, there's someone who knows this thing better than I do. I'm going to let him talk, okay?"_

"Huh? Wait, Dad!"

"_Hello? Helloooo anyone there? King Kai, do you have enough reception out here?"_

"_Be quiet, Goku, you're online!" _King Kai shot back.

"Dad? Who's this?"

"_Hey there! My name's Goku. Boy, you and your dad sure sound a lot a like."_

"Thanks... I guess." he cleared his throat. "So something's going on, you said. That thing that's been killing people isn't a disease, but it's a person?"

"_That's right." Goku said. "His name's Cell. I can't get dragged into giving you the whole story right now, but he's from the future. He traveled back in time with one of my friends. His name's Trunks, and if you see-"_

"Wait, Trunks? As in, the guy who's working with the Akatsuki?"

"_I don't know what's going on down there, Kiba, and I wish I could do something myself, but I can't. But please take my word that Trunks is not a bad person, and he's the only one who can take down Cell. So if you can, please, try and find him. He's the only one who can stop Cell."_

"Wait, where would I even find him? The Akatsuki don't exactly have a map or a clue where their hang out is!"

"_That's all I really know. Just try and find Trunks."_

"Okay, okay. Can I talk to my dad?"

Silence.

"Hello? Anyone?"

"Dad?"

Kiba turned to see his daughter staring at him from the outside of his door with an odd look about her face.

"Oh, hey Salayna." he glanced down, realizing he was only wearing a towel around his waist. "Did you uh... Did you just get home?"

"Yep... just now." she replied, twirling an end of her red hair. "Dad what were you doing?"

"Oh, that. Look, I know it sounds weird, but I'm not crazy. I was just talking to your grandfather and-"

"Yeah, Dad, you're crazy."

"No, I'm not! Listen-" he stopped as he took a step forward, realizing he was virtually naked in front of his thirteen year old daughter. "Hang on a second."

He closed the door and fumbled around the closet for some spare clothes. He opened the door again, wearing a simple brown shirt with jeans. "Okay." he placed his hands on her shoulders. "This is gonna be kind of hard to explain, so I'll just up and say it. You know your grandfather, my father, passed away a long time ago. He just now talked to me, and I'm _not_ making that up."

"Can we sit down?" she asked.

"Yeah, let's go downstairs."

They took a few steps downstairs and sat on the couch of the living room.

"Okay, go ahead." she said.

"You know that disease that killed almost all of Suna?"

"Yeah, that's why Mom is always at the hospital, right?"

"She's always at the hospital, but it's not because of that." he started. "It wasn't a disease. It was an attack. Someone killed all those people."

"What?" she asked, shocked. "Are you sure? How does he know that?"

"He just does, I can't explain how or why." he cleared his throat. "Something was able to get in there, defeat almost all of the shinobi, and it was able to absorb them."

Yesterday's mission came back to his daughter all of a sudden. The clothes of the bandits with the holes in the back of their shirts. _There's no way... could it be the same person?_

"Dad."

"What?"

"There's... something I need to tell you."

"What's wrong?"

"On my last mission, some bandits stole an important file from the Hokage's office. My squad went after them, and we got them back. But... there was something really wrong about it."

"Wrong how?" he asked, curious now.

"The bandits were dead. All of them. The weirdest part was that all of their clothes just laid about, like they left them there." she sighed. "But each of them had holes in their backs. Like something stabbed them."

"What? Salayna, are you _sure_ that's what you saw?"

"Yeah, Dad. I'm positive. The Hokage told us not to speak of it... she's trying to keep it under control so the rest of the village doesn't get scared. But when you started talking about it, it made me think... so that's why."

"How many people know about this?"

"Me, Shinta, Natsuko... and I think Mom knows. I think maybe a few others might know, too? I don't know."

"Does your brother know?"

"No, I don't think so."

Kiba sighed and stood up. "Good. Don't tell him, not right now. His birthday's in two days, let's try and make sure everything's calm."

"Where are you going?"

"I'm gonna go see your grandma. I'll be home later, tell your mom I'll be back and not to wait up for me."

"But-"

"I love you." he whistled, calling Akamaru to his side as he exited his home, closing the door behind him and locking it.

"Is she home?" he asked his companion.

"Yes." he replied.

"Alright, let's go." he said as they took off into a sprint towards his mother's house.

**X X X**

_**Knock Knock**_

A moment later, the door opened to reveal Tsume. Her face had gained some wrinkling, though slight, was still noticeable. She had aged well, considering she was still active in missions due to her skills in tracking.

"Hey, Mom."

"Well, look who it is." she folded her arms.

"Aw, come on, Ma, don't be like that."

Her somewhat serious look went away as a smile came across her face. It's true, Kiba didn't visit very often, but she knew he was busy. She knew all too well, raising kids was a joy in itself, but it left little time for... anything. She hugged him and let him in.

"You've been cleaning?" he asked, noticing a big change in the house. It was always really big, but it seemed bigger this time. Less things around the house.

"Somewhat." she replied. "Where are Sakura and the pups?"

"Sakura's at the hospital still. Salayna's at home... and Kiyosato is out, I think." he raised an eyebrow. He really wasn't sure where his son was, it had been a few days since they had talked.

"I see." she chuckled. "Your son seems to always be the one you know the least about."

"What? Hey, that's not true! He's just like me, hates being at home. He probably went to go hang out with his friends since he's off today and tomorrow."

"Maybe." she sighed. "Anyway, what brings you here back home?"

"I need help finding someone." he said, sitting down at the kitchen table.

"Someone in the village? That should be no problem for you."

"No, Mom, not that. I'm looking for an Akatsuki member... but I have zero lead, and my cold tracking isn't anywhere near as good as yours."

"An Akatsuki? What's this about, son?" she joined him at the table, placing her chin on her folded hands.

"Okay, let me explain. See what happened was..."

**X X X**

_Okay, it should be done now_

Opening the oven door, Aki grabbed an oven mitt as she pulled out a freshly baked cake. She shut the oven and placed the hot metal pan on top of the counter by the sink. "Okay, the rest should be pretty easy." she said to herself as she tied her hair back into a ponytail.

"Something smells good!" said a voice from behind her at the entrance to the kitchen.

"Hey Uncle Kankuro." she smiled sweetly to him. "I just got it out of the oven."

"Ah, I see. That was nice of you, you shouldn't have." he joked as he walked up to her.

"Heh. Next time, I promise. This cake's for a friend."

"A friend, huh?" he walked up next to her, peering down at the steaming cake. "Yeah, I remember your mom telling me this was a big deal for you."

Her face instantly layered in red as she tried to hide it, but obviously couldn't in her failed attempt. "Oh, well, kind of. See him and I have been friends for a really long time, and..."

"Oh, I gotcha now." he replied. "Smart move. Yeah, it'll definitely win him over."

"No! No, no, no!" she waved her hands in front of her uncle, her face even redder now. "That's not what I'm trying to do! You see, my friends and I are going to surprise him, and I'm doing the job of baking the cake, and-"

"Mmhm." he replied, a large smile on his face. "Well, I hope it works out with whoever it is."

"Ugh, uncle, you're being ridiculous!" she whined. "There's no one!"

"Listen." he calmly said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "If you really don't have anyone in mind, I believe you. But if it ever pops up in your head, you can tell me if you don't want to tell your parents."

She smiled. That was the one thing she loved about him, he was so willing and wanting to help. "Okay, I promise."

**X X X**

"I appreciate you letting us stay here." said Gaara, sitting across the living room table from Shikamaru and Temari. "As soon as we can clear this mess up we will be on our way."

"Oh stop it, Gaara. You're not even close to becoming a burden for us." Temari said. "It's been a long time since Aki's seen either of you."

"Yes. That's true. I'm happy to see how much she has grown." he sighed. "I am sorry things ended up the way they did."

"There wasn't anything you could do about Cell." Shikamaru said. "You, Kakashi, Neji, and Kankuro are the only sane ones who have actually fought him and survived. What little you think you know could be a huge advantage to us in finding out how to fight him."

"Yes, I agree. I've told Tsunade about what happened when I fought Cell. I'll be stopping by her office tomorrow to discuss a plan, hopefully we can get in touch with the other Kages and nothing has happened with them."

"Don't think on it too much, Gaara." Temari spoke up. "Tomorrow we'll worry about it. For now, you need to get some rest."

Gaara calmly stood up and pushed his chair in. "It's hard to rest when almost all of your people who have depended on you died with little done to stop it."

The couple said nothing as the Kazekage slowly walked away and proceeded upstairs into the guest room. Temari stood up to follow him, but Shikamaru held her arm, stopping her.

"Shikamaru."

"Let him go. He needs to be alone right now."

"But I can't just-"

"He had the world on his shoulders. He needs time to grieve so he can be himself again... Trust me, Temari, please. He needs this."

She sat back down, her body limped back into the chair and into the arms of her husband as he held her, her quiet sniffling was a yell in the silent room.

"What are we going to do, Shikamaru?"

"We'll figure it out."

"But what if we don't? What if that thing comes here?" she leaned over her chair, leaving his grasp as she placed her hands over her face. "What if we can't do anything?"

Shikamaru put a hand on her back, gently rubbing it to calm her down. "I know we'll figure something out. Having someone to protect has got to be the biggest increase of strength I've ever gotten. It's something that won't bother me if I ever see that thing face to face."

She sighed. He was right, the stress was just getting to her. She picked her head up and smiled at him. "I don't know how you always put up with me."

Shikamaru smirked. "I don't either. Between you and Aki, I have more on my plate at home than when I'm out."

Temari playfully rolled her eyes, happy to see her husband's lame sense of humor was always a spirit lifter for her. "Oh please..."

**X X X**

_Ugh, it's so BORING today!_ Kiyosato whined while strolling down the center of town, his companion right at his heel. "Everyone's busy, I mean come on, it's my first day off in a while. Hopefully it's not like this for my birthday."

"Arf!"

"Yeah, I know they planned to have it off. Still, you never know."

They walked for a few more minutes and took a flight of stairs up to a park, catching an open bench in sight and sat down under a tree extending over the top of them.

"Man this SUCKS!" he complained again.

"What sucks?"

Quirking his head to the left, his eyes landed on Natsuko, who had his hands behind his back, most likely carrying something.

"Natsuko? I thought you were on a mission?"

"Nah, we already finished!" he cheered. "We actually just got back about an hour ago. I'm heading back, my dad's been on me a lot about training lately."

"Hah, yeah. My dad always tells me Naruto did nothing but train when he was our age, and even younger, too."

"Yep! It's no wonder why my dad kicked your dad's ass at the Chunin Exams!"

"Oh yeah?" Kiyosato growled. "Well who won at _our_ Chunin Exams, huh?"

"Not you!" he spat back.

"Yeah, well I didn't see you walking away with a victory under your belt, either!"

"That's because the judge called the match!"

"Becaue _I_ was winning!" the Inuzuka groaned. "I had that fight at the end, and the judge called it cause he didn't want me to hurt you!"

"Oh please! You weren't going to hurt me. My dad taught me a super strong A-rank technique that I was saving for a moment like that- AND IF THAT JUDGE didn't interfere," Natsuko brought his hand forward, pointing directly in Kiyosato's face, unintentionally showing him a clear plastic bag with party goods inside. "I would have used it and won the match!"

"Hey, what's that?" Kiba's son asked.

"!" Natsuko quickly placed the bag behind his back. "What's what? I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Natsuko, I just saw you with that bag-"

"You know, Kiyosato, you've been acting _really_ weird lately. Now you're seeing stuff. I think you should go get it checked out, yep."

"... Okay, I don't even have to use my nose to tell you've got something behind you, why can't you just tell me?-"

"Gotta go!" and with that, Naruto's boy took off running, keeping the obvious plastic bag hidden behind him, now in front as his back faced his friend.

"Hey, wait a second!" he called to him, but he didn't stop. _Damn, he can really run when he wants to. What was that all about, anyway?_

He shrugged his shoulders and set off in the opposite direction. "My friends aren't very good at keeping stuff from me. Guess that's not a bad thing though, right, boy?"

"Arf!" wagged the dog's tail.

"Come on, let's head back." he finally admitted nothing was going to happen, placing his hands in his pockets. Suddenly, he raised his hands to his mouth as he sneezed into it.

"Woof."

"Come on, you actually believe that stuff? You don't sneeze just because someone's talking about you."

Takamaru tilted his head to the side. He knew it was just a myth, but he found amusement in seeing his master mentally debate it, as he knew he always did.

**X X X**

"He doesn't." she admitted. "I know he doesn't."

Outside, in that very same house she was raised in, sat a calm but somewhat saddened Aki, accompanied by her more outgoing uncle as they sat together in the rocking bench of the backyard.

"But, you know what?" she turned to him, a peaceful smile on her face. "I'm okay with that. Like I said, he's like a brother to me. Nothing could ever change that."

Kankuro shrugged his shoulders. "And what makes you so sure?"

"About what?"

"You said you _know_ he doesn't like you, how'd you find out? Did he tell you? Did he tell his friends, and did they tell you?"

"Well, um, not exactly..."

(Flashback)

_**3 years ago...**_

It took her a little while longer to graduate than she thought, but at the ripe age of thirteen, Shikamaru and Temari's daughter had finally graduated from the academy. Even on a day during the week, Gaara and Kankuro made a visit to congratulate her on her graduation.

"I still can't believe I'm a ninja!" she said.

"You did good." her father congratulated.

"Yes." Temari nodded. "Your father and I are very proud of you. Won't be long now until your first mission."

Aki glanced around the crowds. Families and friends, all the sorts, but something, _someone, _was missing.

**X X X**

"Crap, crap, crap! Why didn't Salayna wake me up?"

Kiyosato rushed through the rather empty streets of Konoha, desperately trying to make it to the academy before Aki left, or got mad at him.

_Who am I kidding? She's gonna be mad that I'm late. Wait a second! Where's my present?_ he ruffled through his pockets as he stopped, slapping his forehead for not remembering it. _Damn it! How did I forget that?_

Glancing to his left, his eyes had set on the flower shop Natsuko's mother owned. It was last minute, but it would have to do.

Quickly stepping through the door, his attention was caught by an irritated Natsuko.

"Natsuko?"

"Kiyosato?"

"Why are you working at the flower shop?"

"My mom's family owns this place! Why are _you_ here?"

"I uh..." he quickly scanned the store until he set his eyes on a wide assortment of flowers. Roses, more specifically, in a variety of colors. "I'm looking for one of those." he pointed.

"You mean a rose?" the Uzumaki quirked an eyebrow.

"Yeah, that. I need to get one really quick, how much for one?"

"Hang on, which one do you want? There's like, five different colors here."

"Well gee, princess, which flower should I get?" he mocked back to his friend. It was hilarious seeing him give him direction, especially in a flower shop, with an apron.

"Don't give me that, jackass! Look," he cleared his throat, walking over to the beds of roses. "My mom was telling me different colors of roses mean different things."

"I don't mean to rush you, flower power, but I need to-"

"SHUT UP ALREADY!" Natsuko roared back to his friend. "Okay, I'll wrap this up." once again, clearing his throat to signify his beginning to explain. "Basically, depending on who you're buying a rose for decides the color. Like, if you look at the yellow rose, you're saying-"

"I'll take it."

"Huh? You don't even want to hear what I was about to say?"

"No, I can't. Sorry, man, here's the money for it. Thanks!"

"Hold on! You didn't let me cut it!"

"It's okay, I got it, I'll just use a kunai. Thanks!"

"Arf!"

He quickly took a kunai out and cut the rose down to a medium length. He remembered his father getting his mother a bunch of red roses before, they looked about the same length.

"What's the color got to do with it, anyway?"

"Arf?"

"Maybe. But I figure roses are pretty romantic flowers, anyway. When I give this to Aki, even if her family is there, I'm gonna tell her how I feel!"

"Arf!"

Kiyosato face planted into the concrete at his companion's response. To translate: "That's if she even accepts it."

"Aren't you supposed to be on my side?" he got up, resuming his sprint down the road, making a sharp turn to the right, the academy just in sight.

"Arf!"

"I guess. Look, now is not the time to be the voice of reason. I'm a man on a mission and-"

"Kiyosato!"

Just stepping over the bridge, he caught a glance, and a whiff of her scent. She was standing there, her parents talking to her uncles, with her hand waving as she ran to him.

"I didn't think you were coming." she smiled.

"Hey, I may not always be on time, but I still make it." he scratched his head.

She giggled, her face warm. His hair was messy, he was clearly sweaty from running. He must have just woken up and ran over. The fact that he did that was in some cases sweeter than waking up on time and dressing up. She had always admired that about him.

"So. Looks like we're both shinobi, pretty excited about your first mission?"

"Maybe. But I'm not expecting anything above maybe finding a lost cat or doing lame chores. My dad said a lot of his friends had to do that in the beginning, but it works up eventually."

"Yeah, tell me about it. My mom and dad went through their series of A-rank missions, even when they were genin."

"Guess our parents were just that good?" she smirked.

"Guess we gotta be better than them!" he winked, putting his thumb up.

She laughed, sticking her thumb up also, but not before noticing the bright rose in his other hand. "Hey, Kiyo?"

"Yeah?"

"What's that?"

"Oh! This thing. I picked it up on the way over here. It's a rose... here. Congratulations."

Their hands met as he exchanged the rose to her.

_Friendship. Joy, and new beginnings. That's what yellow means... right?_

A frown wanted to escape her face, but she didn't let it. The day was far too accomplished to let it be ruined by a flower.

_But, then... I always thought he did like me?_ she was without a doubt puzzled. The signs were so clear to her. Or was he like that with all the girls? ... No, she knew that wasn't true. _Should I tell him? ... Or..._

"Hey, Aki. You alright?"

She hadn't realized how she dazed off. It without a doubt put a damper on her mood, but she wasn't going to let that show. How bad was this, anyway? She knew how men could be, and Inuzukas were especially stubborn. If he made a decision, she had to accept it. _I guess I should just let this go, then. Still... it's not a loss. I still have my friend._

"Yeah. Come on, my family's over there. We're probably going back to my house to celebrate. Isn't your family coming?"

"Yeah, yeah I think my mom and my sister are coming. My dad's on a mission."

Nodding, she held the rose close to her as she walked back over the small bridge to her family, dog, and friend, at her side.

(End Flashback)

"So I just never went for it anymore."

"Until now, huh?"

She sighed. "Okay, I never _really_ gave up... I guess I was just scared."

"Psh." Kankuro replied. "Inuzukas are _nothing_ to be afraid of. I actually had to save poor Kiyosato's father one time. You should've seen him, Kiba was about to buy the farm from these really messed up Oto shinobi, and-"

His niece was interested, but he could see in her eyes that wasn't what she was expecting to hear. "Sorry, got a little carried away." he cleared his throat. "Listen, if you think you still have a chance, I say you should take it. Why not? You've been his friend for years, you've clearly had feelings for him, you made him a freaking cake. I mean, look, I don't know him too well, but if he's anything like his father-"

"He is."

"Right. If he's anything like his father, he's probably not going to be able to pick up obvious hints. Not saying he's dumb, but you're going to need to be pretty forward with him."

"Can't he just smell it on me?"

"Oh, yeah, guess I forgot about that." he chuckled, scratching his head. "But if emotions get in the way of your judgement, you can only imagine how it gets in the way of people with heightened senses like that. I would still try the direct approach, cause it always works. Trust me."

She nodded, a final smile of relief came upon her face. "Okay. I'll try it."

**X X X**

"Achoo!"

"Arf!"

"Thank you. Geez, that's like the twelfth time I've sneezed in the past five minutes."

"Arf!"

"No, Takamaru, it's not because someone is talking about me. I told you, I don't buy that stuff. It's all just a bunch of superstition."

Finally getting home, the night sky blanketed the village as Kiyosato unlocked the door and stepped inside, the low humming of the television could be heard in the living room. He locked the door behind him to find his mother asleep on the side.

He took a seat next to her and looked at her. She was exhausted. She without a doubt worked more than everyone else in the house combined. Ever since the remnants of Suna came to Konoha, she was most of the time gone before he woke up, and sometimes still out when he went to bed, even worrying his father. The pay was great, and the bonuses from the overtime she put in was being put away and covering their expenses with ease and plenty left over. But that wasn't much to brag about when your mother had no time to spend with anyone when she was home except the nearest place she could sleep.

"Hey." he rubbed her shoulder. "Mom."

She groaned. "Hm? Not now, Kiba." she yawned, tucking her head into the arm of the couch further. "Not while the kids are here."

"What the hell?" he shook her shoulder further. "Mom, get up."

"Huh?" her eyes opened, vision blurry from falling asleep, and the sticky feeling of sweat on the neck of her neck. "Oh. Kiyosato. I'm sorry, I guess I fell asleep when I got home."

"You've done that a lot this week. Why don't you just go to bed?"

"Well I do, but," she sat up, stretching her arms as she yawned again. "I just come out to watch a little bit of TV, then I just doze off and your father usually ends up waking me up to go to bed."

"Apparently he's done more than that."

"You say something?" she glared at him.

"N-No, Mom!" he batted his hands in front of him for fear of his mother. "Look, it's getting late. Do you have to work tomorrow?"

"Mm-mm. I'm finally off of that, the last person was registered today. That's why I worked a lot later today. At least now I'll be able to spend more time with everyone."

"Yeah, I'm glad."

She smiled at her son, running her fingers through his hair. "You look so much like your father, you know that?"

"Ugh. This again, Mom? Come on." he rolled his eyes, an obvious and embarrassed blush coming across his face.

"I know. Still, it only feels like yesterday when we first had you." her hand returned to cover her mouth as she exhaled another yawn. "You don't have any plans for your big birthday coming up, do you?"

"Not really. I figured we'd just do the same thing as last year."

His mother rolled her eyes. "You certainly didn't get your father's sense of adventure."

"Hey, I like having fun. I just, eh..."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Mom. Don't worry about it."

"Now I'm _going_ to worry about it." her attention now fully at her son as she turned to him, crossing her legs on the couch and folding her arms. "Go ahead, tell me."

"Ugh. Okay." he leaned his head back, rolling his head over to the side to make eye contact with his mom. He wouldn't believe for a minute that Sakura hadn't aged a day, nor did his father, and that the only thing that had changed in their lives was their height, slightly, and the addition of their family. Aside from that, nothing was different about them.

"So? What is it?"

"Man, Mom, you're really nosy, you know that?"

"I'm your mother, I have to be." Sakura smiled. _Even though I'm PRETTY sure I know what you're going to say... Thanks for ruining the surprise, Kiba._

"Okay, well see, there's this friend I have, right?"

"Mhm."

"And he REALLY likes this girl, right? Well, he's been trying to get her to like him this whole time and, well, nothing's really worked. She only likes him as a brother... or something like that."

"And just who is your friend?"

"Oh, he wants to be anonymous."

Sakura grinned. "I see. Okay, then what?"

"That's it. I don't know what to tell her- I MEAN MY FRIEND. I don't know what to tell my friend!"

"Right. Well, the only thing you can ever really be is honest. But, don't just say it, prove it. Act it, and let that person know you really care."

"Is that what my dad did with you?"

Sakura smiled, thinking back all those years, how it all happened. "Something like that. Your father may not look it, but he does have a way with words, even though he'll never admit it. But he always showed me he loves me, and I have no doubt he does, and I do the same for him."

"Speaking of that, where is he?"

"He went to your grandmother's house. Your sister let me know when I got home. I guess he's staying the night."

**X X X**

"That's why we need a tracking team every few miles along the border." said Tsunade, Kiba and his mother facing her desk. After speaking with Tsume about what his father had told him, they had decided to bring this up with the Hokage, who had heard it all before.

"What about Trunks? We need to find him." Kiba said.

"You're right. But Trunks is also an Akatsuki, and a very dangerous one at that, being able to hold all of you off like how he did. I would normally send the ANBU after him, but I know it would be a suicide mission."

"Lady Tsunade." Tsume spoke up. "If what my husband said was true, that may be our only chance at stopping Cell from killing anyone else."

"That's true, and Kakashi did say he handled Cell with ease when he saw them fight on his last mission." she pondered, rubbing a temple. "Okay. But first, I need something checked out, and I can't have anyone else take the mission aside from one of you."

Kiba nodded. "What is it?"

"One of my sources has confirmed the Akatsuki is going to attempt to take Naruto again. Apparently this same team is the same team that captured B."

"The Akatsuki got the eight-tails?" he panicked. That was not a good sign, since B was considered by several people one of the best jinchurikis for the mere fact he had complete control over his beast. Not to say Naruto hadn't gained more control over the fox, but B was on a whole different level.

"That's what the Raikage has reported. Because of this, we've had to set up teams along the borders and tighten security. Kiba, I need you, Sakura, and Kiyosato here tomorrow. It's a strange set up, but I can't spare anyone else, and you three are the best I can gather on such short notice."

"Yes ma'am."

"Tsume, I need you to meet up with the last group of ANBU I had sent off to the northwestern border two days ago who have not reported back. Find out if they're alive, if not, report back, and I'll send another unit."

"Yes ma'am."

"You are dismissed."

**X X X**

"Hey! We're out of rice!"

Trunks rubbed his head as he left his room, walking into the living room to see for once in a long while, the entire Akatsuki sitting at the table in the dining room, very much acting out the dining as he watched Hidan make a pig out of himself, Deidara watch Tobi for when he picked his mask up to see him eat, Kakuzu's different appearance that always surprised him every time he saw him with his mask off, and the rest of the members eating at a slow and steady pace.

"We're out of rice because you ate half of the bowl in record breaking time." Kakuzu said.

"Hey! I'm fucking hungry, we did a lot of shit the other day!"

"No. Trunks did a lot. I did some. You did _none._"

"THIS IS WHY WE CAN'T HAVE NICE THINGS, KAKUZU!"

"Calm down, you two. It's so hard to have a meal with you both arguing." Kisame said, placing a few rolls of sushi on his plate. "Look, you woke up the baby."

The rest of the members turned to see Trunks, still half awake, in a pair of loose black shorts and a blue shirt.

"Get enough beauty sleep?" Kisame teased. "Come eat, but be warned, Hidan is still eating and will likely continue."

_**Ding!**_

"Next round is ready!" Hidan cheered as he got up and ran into the kitchen, then back, shouting in a barrage of obscenities ranging from English to Latin in an incoherent combination as he forgot to grab the oven mitt, dropping the dishes onto the table and running back to the kitchen to repeat the process four times through.

"DONE!" he announced.

"I'm actually full." said Sasori.

"I don't like soy in my rice." Kakuzu said.

"I'm allergic to shrimp." Itachi said in the back.

"I actually can't eat pork. Bad experience, yeah."

"Tobi doesn't like crabs!"

"ALRIGHT FINE, FUCK!"

Hidan's eyes pierced at Trunks, who hadn't said anything since he came into the room. "Well? What's your excuse?"

"I don't have a plate?" he chuckled awkwardly.

"Damn it." Hidan picked up a plate from the middle and tossed it over to Trunks, who sat in between Itachi and Kakuzu. The Saiyan caught the plate, and began shuffling an unholy amount of food to his plate. Entire plates were moved over, and then devoured equally fast. The sight was, to say the least, disgusting, as no one ate that much, that quickly, and didn't stop for any breaks.

"Do you even taste your food?" Deidara asked a few seats down.

"I don't think it even hits his mouth. I think it just goes straight from the bowl to his throat." Kisame added on while Trunks engulfed another entire tray of egg rolls. "That's not an appetite, that's a disease."

"I agree." Kakuzu replied, being pelted by small pieces of rice that escaped Trunks' bowl, Itachi also being rained on by small pieces of food.

Finally, Trunks patted his stomach, leaning back in his chair with a satisfied smile on his face. "Man, that was great!"

Itachi picked a piece of rice out of his hair. "You're disgusting."

**X X X**

"Don't worry too much about B getting away. It is in his character to take advantage of appearing to be captured, when in fact he simply wants to take a vacation. Several years ago, Itachi's younger brother, Sasuke Uchiha, led a team to capture B. That also, was a fake."

"I guess it doesn't really matter, then. They think we have him." the Saiyan responded.

"And that is exactly why with that mindset, they are in panic, and in fear. This opportunity is very lucrative if we are going to get a hold of Naruto Uzumaki."

"Wait. You want me to go back to Konoha and capture... Naruto... Uzumaku, or whatever his name is?"

"Uzumaki. Not important, but I already sent a team after him. I believe Kakuzu and Hidan have a very big grudge against some of the individuals amongst the village, so I told Zetsu to give them the opportunity."

"But what if they fail?"

"Then they fail, and I will send you."

"But why not send me now? And what about Cell? Did you forget about him already?"

The Illusive Man shook his head, taking a sip of brandy before speaking. "Cell is in a rural region at the moment, crossing into the Land of Earth. It will take him some time, even if he flies, to reach any large pockets of civilization."

"What? If you know where he is why the hell don't you go find him?" he asked, agitated that he had the knowledge but was unwilling to make a move.

The Illusive Man sighed. "Trunks. Please, try to understand, we will be able to bring back all of these people. With the Dragon Balls-"

"The Dragon Balls you USED behind my back! How can I trust anything you say anymore, when you went behind me like that?"

"I was in a desperate situation. I apologize, but I think you can agree, without the Akatsuki working in the field, it would make finding the last two jinchuriki, and Cell, very tedious."

"I guess." he folded his arms. "Anyway, what were you saying?"

"With the Dragon Balls, we will be able to restore everyone Cell has killed back to life. We will have all of the tailed beasts sealed, and we will stop Dr. Gero's creation, and save humanity within the process by preserving it into a brighter future than now."

"But Cell will still be strong from all the people he absorbed! Why not let me fight him now when I know I can take care of him without a problem?"

The Illusive Man took a hit of his cigarette, biding a few seconds to collect this thoughts before speaking once more. "Because it keeps them divided. Several hundreds of years ago from your time, an ingenious man named Adolf Hitler conquered all of Europe, and created an empire worthy of song. However, Hitler was a politician, not a strategist. Because of this, he tried to take on two very strong opponents- opponents, he would have beaten had he used his full force on one, then onto the other- by dividing his forces in half in separate directions. This inevitably cost him the war, his legacy, and his life."

"I see." he looked down at the floor. It didn't make that much sense to him. Back then, there weren't any Saiyans or crazy inventions or killer androids to change the tide. The more he thought about it, the more concerned he was that the Illusive Man was even out for "human dominance," rather it be just a glorified reason to take power and control the future.

"You are strong, strong enough to the point that I know I can depend on you for results, answers. I just need you to hold out, just for a small amount of time, and I will see to Cell's destruction."

"Okay." he looked back up. "What now, then?"

"For now, nothing. I will send Zetsu for you if anything comes up. Be patient, Trunks, our time will come."

Trunks said nothing as he stepped off the projector and out of Zetsu's office.

_Why do I get the feeling something is going to happen soon?_

**X X X**

"I unfortunately have to disagree with you." Madara said. "Very little good will come to conquer a planet and rule a people when no one is left."

"I already explained this to Trunks. When the time comes, we'll use the Dragon Balls again to wish everyone back, just before we initiate the Eye of the Moon."

"I could kill Cell now, with ease." he spat.

"I am aware. But don't fear, I have a plan. One that will completely keep the cover, and ensure no loose ends are held."

"I... suppose."

The Uchiha stepped off the projector, Zetsu right by the door of the office. "**Madara.**"

"I can't waste time any longer. We're going for it, now."

"_Alright! This will be cool._ **Is she expecting us?**"

He sighed. "Most likely. But don't worry, I won't need any help. Just make sure she doesn't leave once I find her."

"_Okay!_"

**X X X**

Finally home, Kiba stepped inside to a quiet house, seeing his son at the kitchen table with his feet up, eating an apple.

"Hey, Dad."

"Hey. Not tired?"

"Not really. I guess I'm just anxious."

His father scoffed. "What, about your birthday?"

"Kind of. But not really."

After taking a whiff of the air, Akamaru's ears perked up. "I see. That's what it is, then."

Kiyosato shot up from the chair. "AKAMARU! DON'T SAY ANYTHING!"

"What? I can smell it on you too, you forget my nose is almost as good as his?"

He sat back down in his chair. "Fine, you got me. I can't help it, okay? It just... came over me when I was taking a shower."

He sat down on the other chair across from him. "I know. It happened with me, too, but I was a little bit younger. Trust me, growing up without a father and a bunch of girls isn't a lot of help." he chuckled.

"Dad, what do I do?"

"Hold on." he stopped him, taking a moment to examine the scent around him. "Oh, it's her."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN _it's her_?"

"Hey. Shut up. Don't wake your mother or your sister up just because you can't control your heat."

Kiyosato growled. It was driving him nuts. Not only that, but he had somehow marked his mate at the same time. _Even worse! It HAS to be Aki? Why? Why now? This is so fucking stupid! Now she's gonna think I'm some kind of deranged animal and I'll probably get my ass kicked by her parents!_

"Uh, son? Your face is turning red."

He exhaled a loud breath, like he had been underwater past his limit. "Sorry. Ugh, I don't know what I'm gonna do."

Kiba stood up, placing a supportive hand on his son's shoulder. "Look, this isn't gonna get any easier. But I've been through the same thing, and you _can_ control it. The temptation is gonna get worse, though, especially when you get right next to her... which will be in, what, two days?"

"AHHH I'M FUCKED!"

"Shut up!" he clamped his mouth. "You should be lucky they sleep like rocks, you know what your mom's like when she's cranky."

He let go, and his son finally spoke again. "Okay, sorry. This time, no more outbursts. But right now I just... I just want to go over there. I _need_ to-"

"Go to bed."

"Dad! Come on! You know exactly what I'm going through!"

"Yeah, I know what you're going through. But I didn't go creeping into your mother's room whenever my hormones shot up to the next level. Come on, it'll do you some good. Oh, by the way, the Hokage needs to see us tomorrow."

"Huh? Just us?"

"No, your mother, too. We'll need to be there at about nine, so get to bed, you're already gonna miss your eight hours."

"Yeah, all right. Night, Dad."

"Goodnight, son."

"Arf!"

"Goodnight, pup."

They said their goodbyes as Kiyosato headed back to his room on the ground floor, Kiba flicked off the kitchen light and headed upstairs, Akamaru right at his side as they stepped inside. He sighed in relief to see Sakura laying on her side, her back facing him as he slid out of his clothes and found his way into bed.

"How's he doing?"

The suddenness shocked Kiba to the point where he literally shouted and jumped off of the bed, landing on his back with his feet facing up. "Jesus, will you give me some warning next time?"

"Sorry. I'm just tired... but I couldn't sleep with Kiyosato being so restless downstairs."

Getting back up, he slid back in bed, a smile creeping its way across Sakura's face as his arms wrapped around her waist. "He's okay. He's going through the same thing I went through."

"I figured. Seems like he's not taking it as well as you were."

"Yeah, well... I don't know." he let the silence cover them. She leaned back into him, her head resting under his chin. "You need to shave, lumberjack."

"Yeah, yeah." then, before it escaped his mind, he remembered. "Hey, Sakura. The Hokage said she has a mission for us tomorrow. Us two and Kiyosato."

"I know."

"Oh. Okay, nevermind." he closed his eyes, resting his head on top of his wife's silk-like hair. "Wait, how'd you know?"

"She was my sensei, we still keep in touch. All she did was send me a message at the office."

"Right... okay, let's get to bed, then."

"Mhm... goodnight."

"Goodnight."

**END!**

Well, there you go. Chapter 10. Wonder what's gonna happen next chapter? It's gonna be a fun next chapter, and I can't wait to get started on it. Please review, and I'll see you next time!


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